Tactician's Burden
by Truewind
Summary: The Tactician speaks, and he spins a pretty good yarn. First update in almost a year. Oo In which Red-haired nobleboy enters the scene.
1. Girl from the Plains

Chapter One: Girl from the Plains

_A girl in blue with leaves for hair,_

_Found me in the desert there._

_She gave me water and gave me life,_

_And led me to the heart of strife.___

Sand and grit and other unmentionable substances glued my eyes shut when I first awoke, but I pried them open carefully, assessing my situation even as I lay there helpless.  Something soft was beneath me, though not too soft, it felt like a single blanket.  Wind flapped fabric about, so I assumed that I was in a tent.  And a tent could mean only one thing on the plains.

_Sacaens__._

The thought was not an easy one, the roving tribes of plainsmen were not exactly known for their hospitality.  And yet there I was, wrapped in blankets, somehow healed from the wounds I had incurred from the bandits who had attacked me.  That memory was hazy, as if my mind did not wish to recall it.  I remembered being wounded, and then a flash of blue and green, and then, the nothingness that had occupied me and my dreams for the duration.  When the voice called out, I started, tried to rise; I had heard no sounds of movement within the tent,

"Are you awake?"  the voice asked, and its owner swerved suddenly into view.  Bearing a bowl filled with what appeared to be water, a girl with the green hair of the tribes stood over me, concern in her eyes.  "I had been worried, you slept for so long and kept so little water."

_Water…damn that sounds good right now._

I made some indistinguishable croaking noise that was supposed to be, "Who are you?", my voice cracking.  The girl giggled, seeming relieved that I could manage that much, and held the bowl of water to my lips cautiously.

"Here, drink."  She demanded.  "It will do your body some great good.  I got as much water into you as I could these past few days, but you accepted little in your sleep, even when I lifted your head up as Grandfather taught me."  Her eyes clouded for a moment there with a darkness that was beyond this little tent, beyond the two of them, but she did not explain, and it was gone before I looked up again from my drink.  Well, she was welcome to her secrets, I certainly had enough of my own.

"Who…are you?"  I managed, after drinking the whole bowl dry (and it was not a small bowl).  She frowned again, but her eyes remained clear.

"I am called Lyn, of the Lorca."  She said.  Again, I saw the fleeting fog in her eyes as she mentioned her tribe, and wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her.  But from what I had heard, the people of the plains did not react well to interference by outsiders, so I held my peace.

"Josef."  I said, simply, and she nodded to show that she understood.  We sat in silence for a few moments, myself trying to wake up completely, and she gathering food into a small pile on one of the copious cushions that occupied the floor of the tent.  She was not silent as she fed hard bread, softened by water, to me; she sang in a lilting, pretty voice that was not quite low enough to be alto, but certainly not soprano.  I did not know the words she sang, they were not in the Common tongue that all lands spoke, but her singing was soothing, though I did not let it go so far as to put me to sleep.  When I had eaten all I could, she allowed me to sit up, and we resumed conversation.

"So, Lyn of the Lorca, why did you save me?  Why were you even there at all to save me?  I had been headed for the camp of plainsmen, but I had not expected to run into any of them until the next day.  So why were you there to intervene?"  Recalling the sharp bite of the bandit leader's axe blade, I shuddered.  She sat there in silence for a few moments there, so I took a the time to examine her more closely.  Tall for a woman, though slender, I saw sword calluses on her hands, and her skin was dark with sun.  Her long, green hair was swept up into a ponytail that had more than a little of the whip about it, and her clothes were a garish blue that almost made me gag, embroidered with a red that made it even worse.  I had come to expect a certain array of spectacular color from the Sacaens, however, they seemed to have no sense of what went with what, and would where yellow with blue as easily as black.  She had the strong body of someone who worked hard, but that was also to be expected, the plains were not a forgiving place to live.  She looked up at me from studying her hands, and there was lightning in her lively green eyes.

"You would not have met the plainsmen you sought, Josef.  The tribe you sought was my own, the Lorca, and they were slain by the same bandits who attacked you, just six months past.  All of them slain, all but me."  Bitterness ruled her voice then, as if she wished that she lay beneath the sand with her people.  "The cowards used poison, they tainted our water.  There was so much pain.  I still remember the pain I saw in my father's eyes as he lifted me up onto Windfinder, the sorrow."  Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked away, as though she could not bear to share her pain with another.  But before she could weep, or I could do anything about it some noise I did not hear made her fall suddenly silent and motion for me to do the same.  Rising to her feet, she held a long, slender blade in her hand that I had not seen before it made it there, and stalked to the tent flaps.  "I will see what is out there."  She told me without looking at me.  I sat there, waiting, until she returned, her lips compressed to a thin line of hatred and scarcely controlled rage.  "It is the bandits."  She spat.  "Only two, but perhaps more than I can handle."

The way she handled that blade of hers made me think otherwise, but I did not say anything.  Instead, I offered aid.  "Lyn, may I help you?"  I asked.  Green eyes widened.

"You know how to use a weapon?"

I shook my head.  "No, I am a tactician, I can help you to decide the best course of action."

_Me?  Weapons?  You must be kidding, woman._

Her eyebrows rose until they threatened to mate with her bangs, but she seemed to take it in stride.  "Very well then, I would appreciate your advice in the field."

I nodded and tottered to my feet.  She reached out to steady me, but I waved her away, I could stand on my own.  She conjured up my long, white cloak from the air, and I slung it over my shoulders carelessly.  "Now, let me see the battlefield."  She grimaced, and we went outside.

The odds were not so bad as they might have been.  Only one of the bandits was approaching the tent, and that meant a fairly even match, depending on Lyn's fighting ability.  The ground had a slightly downward slope, however, and leveled off somewhere between Lyn and the approaching bandit.  If she waited, the bandit would have her off balance almost immediately and would be able to press his obvious size advantage.  "Lyn, go to meet him."  I told her, and she needed little more prompting.  I followed closely, but stayed far enough away that I would not catch the wrong end of the wicked-looking axe the ugly man was carrying.  In the first exchange, Lyn slid aside before the axe could touch her and scored a slice across the bandit's unarmored chest.  A nasty wound, but it only seemed to make him angrier.  He lashed out with the axe so quickly that Lyn did not quite twist out of the way completely, and shaved off a fair bit of skin.  Seconds later, with teeth gritted against the pain, the girl slipped her sword through the man's heart and he fell backward, life's blood draining from the wound.  I hurried forward, pulling a bottle out of a pocket in my cloak, thankful she hadn't taken the vulnerary out.  She whipped 'round to meet me, but when she saw the potion, winced, and submitted to treatment.  She hissed as I poured the healing liquid over the exposed nerves, but the skin and muscles began to knit almost immediately as the enchanted liquid did its work.

"Thank you, Josef."  She said simply, then pointed at the enemy, who appeared to have taken over one of the abandoned Lorca tents.  I frowned, he looked even bigger than his cohort, and held the axe like it was something more than a cleaver for cutting meat.

"That one is more skilled than this fool."  I told her, and kicked the dying man with some rancor.  "He will not be easy for you to best, I am afraid, even if he is alone."  As if he saw me looking at him, he leered and brandished his axe threateningly.  "He does not seem to be too concerned with getting you in daylight, though, or perhaps does not want to abandon the other tent.  Either way, you must meet him, and you must do all you can _not to be injured._"  I glared at her to show that I meant it.  "He will be stronger than you, and you must not be hit, even if you sacrifice a hit of your own.  I do not want to see my savior die, especially not when she is so pretty."

She actually smiled a little at the compliment, and might have blushed under all that tan, but she nodded, and made her way to the bandit, blade raised to attack.  I watched as she struck a decent blow against him, but despite my warnings, he grazed her in the side.  Cursing, I started to head forth, but she threw a hand back to stop me, ducking under an axe blow by bending her knees lower than I would have though possible.  She swung her sword up, cleaving him from thigh to breast, and his axe stroke went wild, leaving her open to deal the killing blow.  I caught up and used more healing potion on her wounds, and she smiled wildly at me.  That look worried me.

"Vengeance is ours, Josef."  She told me, and stood up when I had finished.  I deposited the near-empty vial in my cloak pocket again, but frowned at her, and did not follow as she walked back to the tent.  When she realized I was not behind her, she turned back, confused.

"Vengeance does not fill the belly, Lyn."  I told her, and took a step closer.  "Vengeance does not give life where life has been lost."  Another step, and another, until I stared straight into her eyes as I stood before her.  "Vengeance is not even warm, but cold, and will freeze your heart quicker than good steel.  Vengeance _is ours, but I would not dwell on it."_

This time, the tears did come, angry and sorrowful at once.  She looked close to using that blade of hers on me.  "When I awoke, all of my family, and my family's family had already been buried, the tribe that saved me dug their graves.  I did not even get to say goodbye.  All there was was the emptiness, that hole in my heart where Mother and Father once were."

"And is that hole filled now?"  I scowled, and pushed the bloody blade aside with a bare hand.  She did not resist.  "Do you feel fulfilled now that you have spilled blood to stop others to spill blood?  No, Lyn, you must not fight for vengeance, you are too young for vengeance."  Not that I was much older, but I had seen this before.  "Your Mother would not wish you to fill yourself with hatred, and your father's sorrow and pain would be worse if he knew that they had been wasted on a stripling chit who hardly knows how to use her sword, and knows not at all how to love."

She jerked as though I'd punched her, and the sword fell to the ground with a clatter, but I pressed on.  "You _do know how to use your sword, very well, they did not fail in teaching you.  But you forget love when you think of those who killed your people, and you must never forget it.  Would you have cut me down, the one whom you saved from the ravages of the land?  And for simply challenging you?"_

"How…how dare you!"  she whispered, somehow cold and hot at once.  "I saved your life."

"And your father saved yours!  How would you feel if I threw myself at that man you just slew, only to have my body slashed and quartered before you got a word in edgewise?  Think, Lyn.  Brother Flame and Sister Ice, Lyn, _think_."

The blood drained from her face, and the anger drained away with it.  "Josef, I am sorry.  Please, forgive me."

I scowled again.  "Don't do that, you've no need to beg me for forgiveness.  You did save me, and I appreciate that.  But I, for one, think you should go on living."

"Yes."  She said.  I bent down to pick up her sword, and handed it to her, hilt first.

"Take it, Lyn."

"Lyndis."  She murmured, taking the blade in steady hands.  "To everyone else, I was just Lyn, but when we were alone, my mother and father called me Lyndis.  You should know my true name."

I sighed.  "Very well."

Her eyes clouded, but she wiped her tears away with her free hand and glared at me.  "No matter what you think, Josef, my father's death must be avenged.  Please, allow me to travel with you.  I want to get stronger, to take vengeance where it is due.  And stay alive through it, too."  She added hastily, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere until I've had a good rest.  We can decide where to go from here in the morning."

We went back to the tent together, Lyn wiping the blood away from her sword as she walked, and me so tired I felt like I'd drop to the ground and start snoring at any moment.

"I'm headed to Bulgar."  I told her the next morning.  We shared a bitter tea over a tiny fire, and enjoyed the glorious sun of morning on the Plains.

"Then I will follow you there."  She replied, sipping her tea evenly.  "I will be your master swordsman, and you my brilliant tactician."

I grinned at her self-effacingly, but there was nothing of jest in her green eyes.  We were on horseback by midmorning.

Author's Note:  Well, I hope you all enjoyed it.  I will change events if I feel like it will make the story flow better, but rest assured that the main story will remain intact.  I'm just filling in a few of the gaps.  Comments are welcome, though flames will get a good nuke or two in return.

~Truewind


	2. Footsteps of Fate

Chapter Two:  Footsteps of Fate

_What is the price of walking free?_

_Of wearing red and blue with green?___

_Who can say how long we wait,_

_To take  our many footsteps of fate. _

When we rode into town that morning, I had high hopes that we would be able to find a caravan to travel with (caravans meaning caravan guards, of course), but I had not counted on Lyn's plains pride and snappish attitude.  Every time I found a merchant that I thought perfectly suitable, Lyn skulked about through his wagons and found something wrong.  The first man, a long, skinny creature with moustaches as thin as his body, had apparently been transporting a batch of prime dragon weed all the way from Etruria.  Dragon weed being the addictive hallucinogen that it is, Lyn went into a fury, and I had to drag her away from the man's carts before she did something drastic or he called the local town guard.

The second fared no better.  That worthy was a fat man, and short, with a funny turban wrapped around his head that I was not so sure actually meant he came from the Nabuta desert peoples, since he wore so much makeup that I would never have known if his skin was white, black, or purple.  At any rate, I should explain that I _like_ fat merchants.  Even if they have strange dealings, it is usually in pleasure slaves or illegal food products, both relatively innocuous and difficult to pin on the caravan as a whole if caught.  Lyn, of course, barged in on a man taking pleasure from a girl-child, and he hardly escaped with his necessaries intact.

By that time, we were getting odd looks from the townsfolk, and hard looks from the guard, so I decided to drop off the horses at a local stable so it would be easier for us to disappear in crowds.  In a huge merchant's city like Bulgar, horses are not exactly uncommon, but they do make people look up at you when you're riding them, and people don't like looking that far up to see faces.  It reminds them too much of nobility, and the nobility stands out, something I most certainly did not want as I searched for a quiet means to reach my destination.

As it happened, I need not have tried to get a caravan at all.  While I negotiated with my latest prospect – a woman that smelled of moderately priced perfume and looked older than she would have wished – Lyn got herself into trouble yet again.  During my negotiations with the merchant, she wandered off to look at some absurdly colored garments that no sane person would ever purchase, and ran smack into a pair of Lycian knights.

"Oh my love, what a vision of loveliness you are!  The noonday sun sings with every step you take!"

When I heard that voice, my Lyn senses (as I like to call them, any person with a drop of sanity in him gets it after a while) went aflame, and I whirled around to behold one of the aforementioned knights making eyes and goose-girl noises at my charge.

Lyn stepped back a pace from the man, and he urged his horse to cross the gap, reaching a hand out to and cooing obnoxiously.

"Oh my beauteous one, would you not favor me with your name, or better yet, your company?"

My "Lyn senses" exploded.

"Who are you that speaks so freely with a stranger?"  she asked him, and I could easily imagine how hard her teeth would be clenched as she spoke.

"Why, from Lycia fair lady!  I am a knight of Caelin, home to men of passion and high deeds!"

"Shouldn't that be 'home to callow men with loose tongues?'"  she retorted, and the man jerked as if she had smacked him.  He recovered with remarkable alacrity however, plastering a foolish smile on his admittedly handsome face.

"Oooh, you are fair even when cruel, milady!"  he said, and she snorted her disgust.  She stalked back to me and grasped my arm before saying to the man ahorse, "I have no more to say.  Let's go, Josef." And proceeded to drag me back the way we had come.

"But my caravan!"

A few desolate hours later, we were walking back to the stable we had left Lyn's Windancer and my Peaches at, when we ran into a pair of horses in the road again.  I was depressed from the fact that I had been able to find no merchant willing to hire us, Lyn's reputation as a prude had spread like wildfire, and every merchant had at least one questionable item among his legitimate goods.  What this meant of course was that I did not realize that these horses looked very familiar…

"If you would be so kind as to move your horses, you're blocking the road."  Lyn said gruffly.

"Yes, of course."  Said one of the men.  I looked up at him.  He was not handsome, per say, but he was very clean and well-kempt.  His armor had not a spot of rust to be seen, nor a stain upon his horse's barding or saddle.  A lance was in the saddle's holder, and he wore a stout sword at his waist.  The only aspect of him that made him in any way exceptional was his hair, which was a bright red-orange that was nearly blinding in the harsh sunlight.

"Thank you.  You at least seem honorable enough."  Replied the Sacaen, and something niggled at the back of my mind about that tone she was taking.

"Hm?  Pardon me, but I cannot help but feel that we have met before…" said the red-haired man.

_"_Excuse me?"  Lyn said heatedly.

_Uh-oh._  I swiveled my eyes around just in time to see the same knight from earlier in the day seated on the other horse open his mouth to speak.

"Hey!  No fair!"  The man fairly bounced in his saddle, resembling very much a young boy I had seen once, who had been playing at being a knight, and had been rejected by the local bar's serving girl to be his beautiful princess.  "Kent, I saw her first!"

And I'd thought my Lyn sense had blown up before.  Her expression darkened, and her fingers around my wrist were like claws.  "It seems that there are no decent men among Lycia's knights."  She growled bitingly.  The knights' horses parted as she swept past them, whinnying softly in some fear, and the girl walked straight out of the city.

"May your fathers devour your eyes when Mother Earth embraces you, Lyndis of the Lorca!"  I cursed when we were out of earshot of the gate guards.  I finally summoned the presence of mind to break free of her handhold, and she stopped, blinking.

"What?"  she asked, her looking like a startled deer, apparently surprised I knew that particular Sacaen curse.

"Did you even stop to think what we left behind inside the city?"  I screeched at her.  "Horses for one, our bloody supplies for another.  And all because you can't bear a tiny bit of flirting!"

Her eyes blazed.  "A little _flirting?  Josef, that was not flirting.  That was an invitation to join him in the back room of some sky-forsaken inn in the The man was pawing at me, and his friend was no better!  Fighting over a woman like they were boys not yet mastered of their own manhoods!  On the plains, we do not let men ride horses until they are _men_!"_

That little emphasis seemed immensely important, but I didn't much care at that particular moment.

"We're going back."  I said, but then Lyn went pale suddenly and motioned for me to be quiet.

"Run," she said softly.  As we ran, she forwent the subtlety, "We're being pursued!"

"We're WHAT?!!!  Is it those knights from town?"

She shook her head, and that damned ponytail whipped me in the face.  "No, these men are out for blood!"

"Slow…down…"

I ran out of breath and tripped over an errant root, falling promptly on my face.  I heard a low, grating voice in a terribly uncultured accent try to speak Common as I attempted to rid my mouth of dirt clods the size of small cows.

"Hehehe, ain't you the pretty one?"  the voice grated.  It sounded like the equivalent of your dear old aunt Esmeralda crossed with a particularly hoarse raven.  "You'll be Lyndis then, am I right?"

Lyn froze.  "How do you know my name?"

I got to my feet, spit out a bit more sand and rocks, then looked at our pursuer.  Another bandit, uglier even than the last one, and probably bigger.  He had one of those chins that stuck out farther than an Etrurian's nose into foreign territory.  He shook his big, ugly head and sighed ruefully.

"Such a frigging waste.  Oh well.  Too bad I won't get to have any fun with ya, girlie.  The things I do for gold.  What a bloody waste.  C'mon boys, get out here!"

And then the bandits started to come out of the woodwork.  The leader and a few of his lackeys hoofed it through the trees and across the river, leaving one to fight Lyn.  That one was the ugliest bandit yet, missing an eye and some very basic hygiene.  He spoke Common even worse than his boss.

"Come 'ere darlin', Jaral'll give ya a good time.  Those pretty little lips o' yers were jes' made for…"

He didn't get a chance to finish that sentence, since six feet of good Lycian iron sprouted in his chest at that moment.  One of the knights from town, the one with the red hair, wrenched his lance from the man's body ruthlessly and let it fall to the ground at my feet.  The other knight, the handsome one with light brown hair and startlingly green armor, lifted his own lance into the air and shook it at the bandits who had made it across the river.

"Cowards!  Such numbers against a lone girl!  Taste the wrath of the Knights of Caelin!"

He would have charged, rather stupidly I must say, into the thick of the bandits, but his fellow reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.  "Sain, calm yourself.  You will do no good by going to get yourself butchered at the hands of these highwaymen."

Scowling, Sain lowered his lance and turned to us, though it was Kent who spoke.

"It looks as though they wish to fight you."  He said wryly.

"That's true enough."  I answered, taking a curious look at a bandit who was trying to hide behind a tree and failing miserably.

"You're the knights from the town!"  Lyn's scowl made Sain's look like sunshine and spring flowers.

"There's no time for that now."  Kent brushed aside the idea with a gesture.  "You are in trouble.  If it is a fight they look for, let them look to me!"

"Leave this to me!"  Sain said, and the man looked quite ready to take on all of the bandits at once, despite his (obviously superior in rank) fellow knight's orders.

"No!"  Lyn cried, and I caught my breath.  This is my fight!"

Sain looked bewildered.  "But we can't just sit her and do nothing…"

The other knight's auburn brows furrowed for a few moments, then he turned on his horse to face me.  "I have a solution.  You there."  And he pointed at me.  "Command us.  Does that suit?"

"I don't have a problem with it."

"Very well.  I am Kent, and this is my fellow knight, Sain.  We will follow your orders in the fray.  Does that suit, milady?"

Lyn danced around on the ground nervously, her sword in her hand.  "Yes!  Josef and I will lead!  Let's go!"

And with that, she dashed off into the woods to pursue the not-so-sneaky sneaker in the trees.  Kent followed her, and Sain started to, but I grasped the reins in hand.  "Your horse can carry double and still charge, I hope."  I told him.

"Of course!  Thunder is a wondrous beast, fit to leap over the highest hedge and race the wind!"

I rolled my eyes.  _This guy would name his horse Thunder_.  "We're going to head back toward town slightly, then curve around those hills to cross the river and meet up with the others."  He lent me a gloved hand up to the saddle, and I settled in behind him, the we were off.

Now, riding double is possible, but not exactly comfortable.  The saddle we were both sitting on was made to accommodate only one person, not two.  This made for a very, very uncomfortable ride.  Still, my machinations were rewarded when we were nearly at the hills.  One of the bandits was running at us; he had obviously been trying to use the woods to come up on us from behind.  I grinned with satisfaction as we rode up to him, and Sain braced his lance for a charge.  Riding double was difficult for horse and rider, however, and the charge was thrown off so that he only clipped the man on the shoulder, catching an axe blow in the torso on his way past.  I braced him and kept him in his seat, but the blade had smashed through his armor to slash him across his belly.

"It's not deep."  He said through clenched teeth, and in the next charge, he accounted for my extra weight and impaled the man properly.  As he cleaned off his lance, I poured a bit of vulnerary into a cloth and reached around from behind him to slip it into the crack made by the bandit's axe.  He twitched, but submitted, and weathered the treatment surprisingly well, given his excitable personality.  When he was feeling more like human and less like hacked meat, we road up and over the hills, crossed the river, and found our companions already fighting the bandit leader.  It was an amazing sight to see, riding up from the side.  Though Lyn was afoot and Kent on his horse, the two flowed smoothly in and out of sparring with the bandit's big axe with their swords, never giving the man a chance to strike.  He was down before Sain and I got there, with Kent meting out the final blow.  When we got there, Sain and I dismounted, with Kent following suit.  Lyn grinned widely at me as I came to her.

"That was excellent!"  she gushed.

"You did well, Lyn."  I told her, and it was true.  Kent and Lyn both had made it through their bandits without taking wound to horse or human, and I was pleased.  "Now, about the knights…"

"Yes, what of the knights?"  she asked, as though they were not there.  She turned to them and frowned.  "You were going to tell me your story, were you not?"

Kent took off his gloves and tossed them into one of the saddlebags that hung from his winded horse's back.  "Yes.  We are messengers from the Lady Madelyn, of the Lycian state Caelin."

"Lady Madelyn is the daughter of Lord Caelin."  Sain volunteered.  Kent frowned at him, but continued.

"The Lady departed from the castle nineteen years ago to elope with her husband, a man from the plains.  Heartbroken that his daughter would leave him, our lord eventually stated that he simply had no daughter."  The knight's eyes were sad with what seemed to be genuine concern for his lord, and I was touched despite my skepticism.  "But just this year, the good Lady sent word to us, saying that she lived happily with her husband and daughter on the plains."

Sain took up the reins of the conversation then, "The Lord was overjoyed to learn that he had a granddaughter!  He sent us off posthaste to look for her, and we hoped that she would be so beautiful as to melt his poor heart and make him love again."

"_Sain hoped that."  Kent emphasized, with a scathing look for his companion.  "We did not realize that the Lady Madelyn died a few days after writing that letter.  That unfortunate news came to us when we reached Bulgar.  Still, we also learned that her daughter yet lives, alone in the plains."  Kent took a deep breath and met Lyn's eyes unblinkingly.  "I knew that you were the lady Lyndis when I first saw you."_

Lyn shuddered.  "And why would you think that?"

Kent waved a hand as if to say that it was obvious.  "Your resemblance to your departed mother is unmistakable, you even have something of her manner about you."

"You knew my mother?"  I heard breath catch in Lyn's throat, and the sadness I remembered seeing in her leaped into my mind with a vengeance.

"I do not claim to have met her personally."  Kent said ruefully.  "I was only a boy when she left the castle.  Still, there are portraits of her hanging in the gallery at the castle."

I reached out to Lyn and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  She spoke, and pain was in her voice once again.  "To my people, I was always Lyn, but sometimes…when I was alone with Mother and Father, they would call me Lyndis.  This is all so strange.  I was alone, and now I find that I have a grandfather."  Her normally vibrant voice sounded almost dead, despite the joyous implications of the fact.  I blinked.

"Wait.  That bandit, didn't he call her Lyndis as well?"  I asked, and Kent looked baffled.  Sain was not.

"Well, he was a henchman of Lord Lundgren then, wasn't he?"

"Lundgren?"  I tried to think back.  "The heir of Caelin, right?  The ruling lord's younger brother."

Sain nodded.  "Not only that, but a blackguard of fiendish proportions."

"When the Lady Madelyn disappeared, she was presumed dead."  Kent said, and the rest of us nodded.

"That meant that Lundgren was direct line for the throne, since the Marquess had no other children of his own, correct?"  I asked, and the two cavaliers nodded again.

"To be frank, milady," said Sain, with an uncharacteristically sober expression, "you are an obstacle in his path the throne.  Being who he is, he will do anything to remove you."

I exchange a look with Lyn, both of us knew no plainsman would ever take on a title, even if she was the granddaughter of a Marquess.  Aloud, she said only, "I have no intention of claiming any title."

But Sain shook his head.  "That doesn't matter to a person like your uncle."

"I agree."  I piped up.  "Lundgren will hunt you down no matter where you hide, Lyn.  The only solution is to resolve the issue with him somehow."

"Then come with us!"  Sain said, energy back in only moments.  "We will protect our liege lady with our lives!"

Kent nodded, quite serious, and Lyn looked at me.  After I shrugged, she said, "I suppose I have no choice.  Give me a moment to talk with Josef alone, please."

As Kent wrenched Sain away (I saw the man trying to take peeks at Lyn as they rode out of hearing distance), Lyn led me over to the water, where it would disguise our voices.  "I don't want this."  She told me.

"You didn't want a lot of things." I retorted.  "Being the daughter of a Marquess of the Lycian League isn't so bad."

"I don't like it, Joe.  These men seem honest, and I want to meet my grandfather if I can, but what if this is a trap?"

I shook my head.  "It doesn't smell like a trap to me, Lyn, and even though I'm not always right, I usually do pretty well if I listen to what my gut tells me.  I'm one of the most suspicious people I know, and those two," who were apparently wrestling, armor and all, to show they weren't eavesdropping, "don't set anything off in me.  I think we should trust them, at least.  This is as good a track as any for us to take."

_Especially since you lost us our supplies and any chance to get a decent way to travel 'cross country._  "The thing I can't do for you, Lyn, is decide.  This is your choice.  I think you should investigate your roots before they get cut off, but that's just my perspective.  But really, do you have anything better to do?"

She frowned.  "No, I suppose I don't.  Does this mean you're coming with me?"

"There was never a question."

We grinned at each other, and went to tell the knights to stop acting like boys just off their mama's apron strings.


	3. Sword of Spirits

Chapter Three:  Sword of Spirits

_How can a sword thus forged from steel,_

_Ever aspire to emotions feel?_

_It sees the lies and then the hate,_

_As for its owner it sits to wait._

"We should have plenty of supplies to make it to a town on the border of Lycia, why do you want to stop?"

As we rode, I sat atop Peaches, who was a docile, pretty bay mare with a small, white star on her forehead.  She got her name from her favorite treat, which I would always core and feed to her myself when we arrived at or left a town.  It was a custom the horse appreciated, and I'd do anything to get her to keep her gait as smooth and lovely as it was.  Lyn rode beside me, on her Windancer, a nervous stallion several hands taller than Peaches.  That meant that she was taller than me, in the saddle, and I had to shield my eyes against the sun to look at her.  With a mane of spun silver and a coat of gold, the stallion was even prettier than my Peaches, and knew it.  Fortunately, Lyn had a firm, gentle hand with the reins, and used no bit, her temperament perfectly matching that of her horse.  I rather pitied anyone who tried to attack the pair of them en route to a destination.  Lyn's hair was, as was usual, tied back in a firm tail that floated back in the breeze rather dramatically, though the horses moved only at a fast trot.  She turned to look down at me and frowned.

"Surely you know of the customs for a plainsman leaving Sacae?"  she replied, seeming a little offended.

"No, I'm afraid I don't.  Enlighten me?"  _I've never traveled with a half-Caelin, half-plainsman, so excuse me for not knowing what statue she wants to kiss on her way across a big black line on a map!_

She frowned, but there was nothing of temper in her eyes.  Instead, she gazed off to the east, the direction we were traveling in, and smiled.  "It is a tradition for a Sacaen to kiss the spirit sword Mani Katti, that he may be granted good luck on his journey out into the world."

"Oh, how quaint!"  Sain gushed from slightly behind us, and Lyn shot him a scathing glare that quelled the rest of what he might have said.

"I see no reason why we should not take the detour."  Kent said, from up in front.  I sighed and patted Peaches' shoulder with resignation.  

"We'll have to restock our supplies at the place where they keep this sword of yours, then.  I packed enough for a journey to Lycia, but I hadn't planned on running all over the countryside kissing swords and killing bandits.  If it's that important to you, Lyn, I'm sure we can stretch our bread far enough if the temple doesn't have any to spare.  Don't complain when you're eating three-day old cheese and mold for breakfast, though."

The bandits did not surprise me.  With a reward on her head from Ilia to the farthest reaches of the Nubata desert, it was only to be expected that every last bandit king would be out to get her.  That didn't keep it from being tiresome, though, and I intended to complain heartily every chance I got.  Lyn ignored me, of course, but I got a chance to vent, and as far as I was concerned, that was all that mattered.

A bit after midday, the land started to incline, and I noticed that we were entering a rather hilly region.  This was unusual for the plains, since Sacae was generally an unending succession of grasslands, grasslands, and more grasslands.  That meant that we were probably near the border to Bern, and I wasn't so sure I liked being in close proximity to that particular kingdom.

"Lyn,"  I pitched my voice so only she would hear it, "do your business and let's be gone from here quickly. I have a bad feeling."

She gave me a look that said, "I'll take however damn long I want, Josef, and you'll not complain about it", and gently nudged her stallion up so she could speak with Kent.  I rolled my eyes, and happened to catch sight of a woman running up the side of the hill we were about to start down.  She looked winded, and her skirts were hiked up so she could run faster.  She wore a plain working dress, with her hair up in a bun, and she looked harried.  Kent motioned for us to stop as we reached her, and she put up her hands in a gesture of helplessness to show she was at least neutral.

"Are you travelers going to visit the temple over there by chance?"  she asked when she had caught her breath.

"We are."  Lyn replied, and the woman's eyes brightened.

"Oh good.  Do you think you could save it, then?  It's being attacked by some bandits, and I'd rather it stayed intact."

I blinked.  "You don't seem too worried.  Aren't you afraid the Mani Katti will be stolen?"

She gave me a long, measuring look before replying, "Not really.  If that sword leaves the temple, it'll be on its own terms, I should be thinking.  If it wants that bandit leader for its owner, I'm sure it'll go peaceably.  But if it rejects him, like I think it will, he'll probably tear down the whole temple, and I'd rather that didn't happen.  It is pretty, even if it's sort of old-fashioned.  Well, I must be going.  I'm sure the priest will thank you if you help him."

And then she was off, down the side of the hill we had just scaled.  I looked at Lyn, and then the knights, and sighed.  "We're going to save the temple, aren't we?"

They didn't even answer.  They didn't have to.

I must admit that I let myself get a bit complacent.  After all of our battles with the bandits across the plains, I had come to think that they would follow a pattern I could discern, and I followed the same stratagem for every battle.  Unfortunately, this group was good enough to be tricky, and they used the terrain against us.  Lyn was on foot, with me riding Peaches and holding Windancer's reins (though he looked fit to burst from being told to listen to me).  As we rode around the wall that surrounded the small hamlet near the temple, a bandit sprang out of the trees at one of the horses, Thunder.  Sain, who was toting a sword after a few rounds of lance versus axe that turned out badly, was enough battle-wired that he caught the axe on his sword and kneed Thunder into helping him fling the weapon into the woods.  Unarmed, the man was easy pickings, but we moved on with more care, Kent and Sain at my sides, and Lyn behind.  Another bandit came down out of the hills just next to the temple, but Lyn made short work of him with easy, almost careless strokes.  They only looked careless though.  In truth, she was sliding nicely into the sword fighting style of the plains; a liquid form that flowed as much as it struck.

Kent and Sain eyed the hills that would take us around to the temple's entrance dubiously, but I found a way around the problem.  Not a way that the caretaker of the temple would approve of, but tacticians have to look toward efficiency and men's lives, right?

"Kent, look at that."  I pointed to the side of the building nearest to me.  The wall was ancient and ornate, with epic events carved in relief on its surface as well as a chaotic array of shapes that I could not even begin to understand the symbolic purposes of.  More importantly, there was a point in the wall that was cracked, four jagged breaks in the masonry that led to a small hole.  "I don't know how that got there, but you can use it, right?"

"I can."  He replied, and he pulled his lance from its holster easily.  He brought his horse around so that he could examine it more closely, marked out with his eyes where he would hit, then rode around to make a pass.  My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets as he charged his horse at the wall at a speed I thought would take him straight through.  Being the cool-headed leader he is, however, Kent timed it so that his blow opened the crack wider, wide enough for me to see through.  Inside, a pair of bandits gawped at us through the hole, and started over to the wall.  Kent made another pass, and this time a section of the wall crumbled into a pile of oddly shaped blocks.  Coughing, the bandits tried to attack, but Lyn and Sain dispatched them together nicely.  They did not work as well together as Lyn and Kent did, but they did well enough.  Sain's fighting style was a bit more wild than Kent's almost textbook approach, but both were capable knights of high potential.

Little did I know how well that potential would be tested in the days to come.

Not bothering to leave the horses, I led Peaches and Windancer right through the hole after Lyn and Sain.  Behind me, Kent cursed, and I heard the sound of iron slapping dirt.  I looked, and he made an irritated face.

"My lance broke."  He spat, in a foul mood.  Wrenching his sword from its sheath, he rode in behind me, and we faced off the bandit leader all together.

That man was unlike any other bandit I've ever seen.  Most were older men who had lost their families, or who stole to feed their families, and none of them were swordsmen.  This one was different.  He was holding an elaborate sheath that looked to belong on the nearby altar in one hand, and a brandished sword in the other.  Leering, thin but rangy with the tight muscle of a trained sword fighter whose blade saw use, he was not pretty, but he was certainly not as grotesque as most of the men we had come across.  When he saw Lyn, he bent back in a defensive stance and held his blade between her and the Mani Katti.

"I am Glass, the greatest swordsman in all of Elibe!"  he boasted, and I laughed out loud.  Lyn did not laugh.

"You are a defiler of a holy artifact," said the fiery plainswoman, "you no longer have any name." 

She dashed at him, feinting craftily to try and draw his attack, but he was not having any of it.  He ignored the feint in favor of the gut blow that came soon after, knocking Lyn's sword aside almost contemptuously.  He returned with a feint of his own, which she blocked, and was forced to scramble to block the real attack to her shoulder soon after.  I watched as he ran her around the room, and it occurred to me that the knights were not doing anything.  I glared at Sain.

"Help her."  I told him.  He looked surprised.

"But this is the Lady Lyndis' battle, surely."

_Damn knight's honor._

"It'll be her grave if you don't help her, now."  I told him, and my point was only reinforced when Glass scored a hit on her leg.  She made a fair return, catching him on his unarmored arm, but she had obviously taken the greater of the blows.  Sain looked from her to me, head swiveling from side to side comically, and Kent shook his head before diving into the fray with his sword.  Together, Kent and Lyn matched the bandit easily. Whenever the man struck out at Kent's horse, Lyn knocked the blow aside, and finally Kent took the man to the neck with his blade, slicing almost cleanly through.  Blood spilled out on the temple floor, and Lyn fell to the ground, exhausted.  I jumped down from Peaches and ran to her side.

"Sain, take the horses outside and tether them.  Kent, you make a check around the entrance for any lackeys out for vengeance."

Used to taking orders from me by then, the two complied quickly and efficiently, with Sain leading the horses out through the crack made by Kent's lance, and Kent riding over to the main entrance.  I cradled Lyn in my lap (she would suffer such ministrations from neither of the knights), and pulled out my vulnerary stores.

"You've gotten yourself torn up pretty good, girl."  I told her, and she grinned weakly.

"Not near as bad as you were when I found you on the plains."  She retorted, then winced as I poured the scathing potion over the vicious leg wound.  As I bandaged it, I tried to comfort her a little.  "There are hoof prints on the floor, do you think the local priest will mind?"

She chuckled.  "Somehow I don't think he'll care, Josef."

"Indeed I will not, good lady."

I nearly jumped.  Nearly.  If I had, I might have made the wound worse, so I settled for just letting the hairs on the back of my neck stick straight up.  I looked up from what I was doing, and there was the priest, robes and all, apparently conjured out of thin air.  He smiled raffishly at me and tapped the wall behind him, which fell away to reveal a hidden exit to the rear of the temple.

"You are not wounded?"  Lyn asked, though she leaned more than a little against me still, regardless of my treatment.  The old priest shook his head.

"Thanks to you, good lady, I am unharmed.  Though I see the same may not be said of this temple."  He frowned at the crack in the wall, and I felt my face grow hot.

"Father, that was my doing, I'm afraid."  I told him.  "We needed to get inside, and there were hills in the way…"

The old man shook his head.  "Do not fear for what you could not help, lad.  By your garb, you are this group's tactician, I imagine?"

"That's right."

"Well, you saw the most expedient route and took it.  If you had not, perhaps I might have been killed, or the holy sword spirited away from the temple forever."  He knelt and pried the elaborately scrolled scabbard from the dead bandit's hands roughly, then brought it over to Lyn, heedless of the blood that leaked from the corpse.

"You have saved the temple.  If you are here, you must be departing from Sacae.  Come, daughter, I will allow you to hold the Mani Katti in your hands."  A sly grin was in the man's eyes, but I was not sure why it might be there.  Stunned, Lyn took the blade from him and held it in her hands.  I released her and let her stand on her own feet, and just as I fell away, the scabbard flared with light, temporarily stealing sight from me.  When I could see again, the priest's grin was spread across his wide face and lit his eyes fit to give him the look of a man ten years younger than he really was.

"It is as I had suspected.  The blade has chosen you, Lyn, to be its bearer.  Mani Katti wants to be your companion on your long journey, wants you to be its companion."

Bewildered, Lyn stared at the sheath, which still glowed faintly.  "No…"

"You do not believe?  Then test it!  Only one who is worthy could break the spell I cast on the sword and hold it.  Only the one chosen by the sword may draw it."

Lyn shook her head dubiously, but grasped the hilt and pulled the blade out.  She overestimated the strength needed to release it, and it nearly flew from her grasp as it eagerly sprang from the scabbard; and it sang, glowed like the sun at noon.  I heard Sain behind me gasp, and I was hard put not to gawk myself.

"There you have it."  Said the priest.  "The blade wants you.  Take it, and put it to good use in your travels."

That old man knew more than he let on, now that I look back at the scene.  But I can't say what exactly he knew, that would be telling.

Author's Note:  Thank you to all the people who reviewed, I appreciate it very much.

FIREmbemfan:  I'm glad you think mine is the best, I think.  ^^;;  Stick with me, I think you'll like the finished product.

Drilling Planet:  Ya thinkin' it's gonna go down'ill from 'ere?

Red Mage Neko:  Thank you.  I pride myself on sticking the characters' personalities just right, so it's nice to know my work is appreciated.

khmerboi919:  I fully intend to, thanks.

hyliansage:  Battles can be unrealistic?  O.o  Just kidding.  Thanks, I work really hard on my battle scenes.  And yes, Sain is handsome, though Hector is my favorite.  (Hector:  Get real, buddy.)  8-8

Millenium Slinky:  You, my dear, have a strange sense of humor.  Glad you like the story, I mean to review yours sometime in the near future. 

Zachary Knightblade:  Just because I did it doesn't mean you can't do it as well.  This story is about how I imagine I would react in a situation like the one presented in Fire Emblem, you could just as easily do the same for yourself.  A justified self-insertion, whee!


	4. Band of Mercenaries

Chapter Four:  Band of Mercenaries

_A bashful girl and her flying horse,_

_Were flying on a mountain course.___

_A wandering boy with a hunter's bow,_

_Who walks wherever he wants to go._

We broke camp early that morning, all of us were restless to be off.  After the incident at the temple, I wanted out of Sacae and into civilized lands as soon as possible.  Lyn wanted to see her grandfather, and the knights would follow wherever their "Lady Lyndis" went.  It was distressingly difficult to remain on equal terms with the girl with those two throwing the title around like When I conjured a compass from my packs, Lyn eyed me like I had suddenly grown antlers and fur.

"What is that?"  she asked, perplexed.

"A compass, Lyn.  See the little arrow inside the glass here?  The direction it points to is always north, no matter which way I hold it."  To demonstrate, I turned about, and the compass altered its setting to match north every time.

"Why do you need that?" she asked.  "I use the sun to find my way, or the stars.  What need have you of something like this?"  she pointed at the compass contemptuously.

"I, unlike you, am not a master tracker.  The compass lets me do what you do, only I don't have to spend a lifetime on the plains to learn how to use it."  I grinned, and she snorted.  Kent and Sain wisely stayed out of it, and we all headed west according to the little needle in the glass anyway.  As we rode, the flatlands became hills, and the hills became foothills.  I asked a map of Kent, and he provided it, pointing out the pass that we were heading towards.

I thought that it was the little spat with the compass that had been keeping Lyn quiet, one never could tell how she would react, nor what mood she would choose next, but it turned out that I was for once not the source of her wrath.  As we approached the mountains, she grew more and more agitated, performing camp chores with swift efficiency and as little human contact as possible.  By the time we reached the pass, she was not talking at all, and I started to wonder what was wrong.  She did not seem to want to talk about it. 

"It looks like it'll take us three days to make it through the pass."  I told Kent, from the map I was borrowing.  He nodded, and I sighed.  "Who knows what's up there?"  I looked to the young cavalier with the red hair.

"We don't know, Josef."  He told me solemnly.  "We came to Sacae on a direct course through Bernish territory, we never saw any of the higher mountain passes."

I frowned.  "Then why are we taking this pass now?  The Wyvernclaws are some of the tallest mountains in Bern.  If we don't have to cross them, I wish that we wouldn't."  Something tickled in my memory, something that I knew would tell me why we were taking this road, but I could not quite tease it out of my mind.  Sain answered me.

"We traveled with the King's blessings last time."  He said, handling Thunder deftly as the stallion tried to swerve off in pursuit of some particularly green grass.  "The gate guards at the border ripped up our papers and told us not to come back."

I cursed myself.  _Of course we can't just waltz through Bern!  The king's been acting funny for a while now, hasn't he?  He levied tariffs on Lycian goods, something that hasn't been done for three hundred years.  It only follows that he would prevent Lycians from traveling freely through his lands as well. I can't imagine that Lycia has any meaningful machinations against Bern, so it be problems on the inside that are making the king nervous.  Tch, silly princes maneuvering for power.  Probably some power play by Duke What'sHisFace against the king._

Lost in my thoughts, I let Peaches follow Windancer up through the pass, which was unguarded on the Sacaen end.  As we got further up the mountain though, I found that I needed to work with Peaches to keep the two of us going.  The steep incline was wearing on the horses, and if I sat there like so much dead weight, I'd wear her out in no time.  That meant moving with her, and that took far too much work for me to be worrying about what the bloody king of Bern was up to.  It was none of my business, after all. 

We reached a tiny hamlet, seated in the mountain along the trail, but it looked more like a ruin than anything else.  Walls were falling down everywhere, the people fled as we rode in, and there was a general feeling of fear in the air that I didn't like.

"This place is a dump."  Sain said, eyeing the sad state of the houses with the critical eye of one who has not experienced abject poverty.  "Don't these people care to wash?  And these walls wouldn't stand up to a boy slinging rocks at them.  Why does the marquess of this place not do anything to help them?"

He seemed angrier at the unknown ruler than at the people, which I was glad to see.  That meant he at least understood the bond nobleman and peasant had to each other, a bond of mutual servitude rather than of master to slave.  I would have thought more on aristocracy, but it was at that moment that Lyn's agitation sprang out of her like a tiger loosed from a cage.

"No marquess rules here."  She said, teeth clenched.  "There are too many bandits for a petty nobleman to do any good here."

Sain opened his mouth to protest that slight against the Lycians lords, but thought better of it when she glared hardly at him.

"What sort of bandits?"  I asked, and cursed myself again for letting my tongue loose.  Lyn turned all of her formidable wrath to face me then, and I wondered at the hatred that shone in her eyes.  I knew that look, I'd seen it as she stepped back from the bandit's body back at her tent in the plains.

"The Taliver."  She said, her words cold and bitter.  "They're the ones that killed my clan.  It only took one night for them to slaughter us all.  There were only ten left, including me.  The Taliver are beasts, every one of them."  She went silent for a few moments before adding, "I can never forgive them."

I started to say something, but a shrill scream pierced the air, and Lyn's attention was diverted to a group of people just down the road.  We made our way carefully up, and came in just in time to catch a bit of the conversation.

"'Ey girlie, ye'd besht be comin' with us.  Girlsh dinna jes' land on us without payin' the duesh."

"But I told you I was sorry!  I mean it!"

"Hey Lommy, whatcha thinkin' we can get fer the bird horsey?"

"No!  Do what you want with me, but don't hurt her!"

I shook my head sadly.  The men were very obviously drunk, and the poor girl must have done something to agitate them, and if they were drunk enough to think she was riding a pegasus…

"Florina!"  Lyn shouted, startling the men, who let the girl drop to the ground.  As we got closer, I realized that the men weren't drunk, they were just very, very stupid, and that the girl really was riding a pegasus.  I groaned as the bandits' expressions shifted from shock to understanding, then to grins of intended mischief.

"Well, what've we got 'ere…"  the bandit started, but Lyn just rode past him, pulled Florina up into the saddle and slapped the girl's pegasus on the flank to get him moving.

"Spare us."  I told him, and he looked at me in much the same way Lyn had when I'd shown her the compass.  I mustered every ounce of pomposity that I could draw up from the dregs of my personality.  "What did the girl do to you that you intend to take…liberties you are not entitled to?"

The bandit gawked a few more moments, but his eyes eventually cleared and he shut his flapping jaw.  "She landed on me, she 'as ter pay the price!"

His horrible accent made me cringe, but I tried to get past that to see how I could end this peacefully.

"You don't appear to be injured."  Lyn said, hugging the girl close.  I could tell that the two of them had been friends, the girl was almost as excitable as Sain's horse, she would never have let a stranger yank her up into the saddle by arm like that.  "She's obviously sorry, move on and leave us in peace."

I shook my head, I knew where this was leading.

"Shut yer trap, ye stupid whore."  Quipped the bandit, and he leered.  "The girl comes with us, if we have to hack up the lot of ya."  He half-led, half-dragged his companion back behind the dubious protection of a decrepit wall and shouted, "Come on boys, let's get 'em!  Don't lay a finger on the women, but the men are fair game!"

I sighed, and bandits popped out from every nook and cranny I could see, and some that I could not.  Fortunately, they did not seem to be too concerned with getting us in a timely manner, and the little corner of town we were in made it so that only two bandits, one coming through the hills beside a nearby hut, and one through the gap in the walls, would be able to come at us at once.  I gathered the group plus Florina and laid out my plan.  "Kent, Sain, you take the way through the walls that we used to get here.  You've both got swords, use them against the axes and pray they haven't found a bow recently.  Here."  I tossed a bag of vulnerary to Kent.  "Use it if one of you is wounded.  I'd like to give you both one, but I don't have enough, so you'll have to share."  They nodded, freed their swords from their scabbards, and head off in the direction I had indicated.  Lyn frowned at me and slipped out of her saddle, bringing Florina with her.  "And what should I do, oh wise tactician?"

She was sarcastic, but the appearance of what seemed to be an old friend was apparently tempering her hatred for the bandits, and that meant she was not in total blood path fury.

"You, my dear, will check out that house to see if anyone is there.  And before you argue, there might be someone there who can help us.  I'll come with you."

Florina, who was a tiny girl with long, wavy lavender hair, tugged on Lyn's shirt sleeve.  "Who's that, Lyn?"  she asked.  Lyn started, she had obviously forgotten that the girl and I had never met.

"This is Josef.  He's a good man, Florina, you can trust him."

The girl bowed so low I thought she'd bang her head into the ground, and trembled as she said, "N-Nice to meet you, J-Josef."

"Likewise."  I said dryly.

"Um…what should I do?"  she asked me.  She was quicker than she looked, she'd figured out that I was the tactician from listening to the orders I gave to the cavaliers.

"Florina…"  Lyn said, but I glared at her.

"Get going, Lyn."  I snapped, and she went, looking back at Florina worriedly.  I turned my attention to the girl.  Her pegasus was glaring at me over her shoulder, but I just stared back at him until he averted startlingly violet eyes.  "Now, Florina.  You want to take my orders like the rest of the group?"  She nodded.  "Very well then.  You can ride that flying horse of yours, I assume?"

The "flying horse" bristled at being called thus, but Florina just laid a hand on his (he had to be a stallion with that temper) nose and stroked it absently.  "I can use a lance."  She said, and she loosed one from the holster her pegasus wore.  It was a small, slim lance, nearly a spear, and one I was used to seeing the pegasus riders of Ilia carry.  I nodded.

"Good.  I want you to fly over the house Lyn's going to and take out the swordsman behind it."

I knew there was a swordsman there because he was glaring through a hole in the wall rather frighteningly.  Florina looked like I had bitten her, but mounted her pegasus in favor of having any more words with me and flew directly over the wall.  I heard the swordsman laugh heartily as she attacked him, but his laughter turned to angry cries soon enough.  Apparently, she was as well trained as any Ilian merc.  Kent and Sain appeared to be doing fine, though luck was out for them, and they ran into an archer.  When I had determined that they'd be all right, I followed Lyn over to the small house, where she stood talking with a tall youth who was nearly as non-descript as Kent was, though he had brown hair.  He carried a short bow, and a quiver was slung over his back.  Lyn seemed to be negotiating something with him.  She turned away, but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Wait, let me go with you."  He implored, and his eyes flicked toward me for a moment.  "I was the best hunter back in my village, I know how to use this thing."  He held up his bow, which looked more than a little worse for wear, but still serviceable.  Lyn opened her mouth, but I leaped in before she could tell him off.

"We'd appreciate the help.  What's your name?"

"Wil."  He replied.

"Well Wil, I want you to go help Florina over there."  And I pointed at the wall, to where the girl was harassing the man with the sword, but not doing enough damage to bring him down.  Surprisingly, the boy just nodded and took off in the direction I had indicated.  These people never ceased to amaze me.  Kent and Sain could be as stubborn as teenagers outside of battle, but when they drew swords, they listened to me without fail.  Even Lyn was willing to bow to my judgment in the field.  I shook myself and reached down to touch her on the arm lightly.  "Lyn, go help the knights.  Florina will be fine, especially with an archer to back her up."

"I don't trust him."  She told me.

"You don't trust anyone.  Now get your sassy rear moving before I find something boring for you to do."

She grumbled, but set off swiftly for the cavaliers.  I turned to make sure that Wil and Florina really _were_ all right, and caught sight of them finishing the man off with nearly simultaneous attacks.  The next bandit held an axe, but Wil stuffed him so full of arrows that he went down with one hit from Florina's lance.  Satisfied, I followed Lyn on Peaches.

Things were messy, very messy.  Kent and Sain still had their swords out, but the fight was complicated by the fact that there was a mixture of axes, swords, and bows outside of the walls, this was no ordinary bandit horde.  I rode up behind them, hoping I wouldn't catch a stray arrow, and shouted out some advice.  "Sain, draw your lance!  Lyn, you cover him, and Kent, you flank him on the other side with your sword!"

They didn't acknowledge me, but that was probably because they were all locked in combat.  At any rate, they followed my advice, and I was pleased to see that it worked quite well.  With Sain in the middle to deal with any swordsmen, the three of them were unstoppable.  Once outside of the walls, we maneuvered around so that Lyn could use the trees to her advantage.  She was a great deal better at hiding among them than the one bandit had been when we'd fought outside of Bulgar.  One particularly stupid bandit ran past her, and got Mani Katti in the belly for his trouble.

We worked our way toward the ruins in the northeast, with Wil and Florina sweeping in from another entrance at the northwest to clean up the two mercenaries that were working with the bandits.  When we met up, Florina presented me with a large bag of gold, saying that she'd been given it by some of the townspeople.  I handed it straight back to her.

"I want you to take this, and go by something heavier than that twig you're using."  I told her, and she winced, trying to hide her spear behind her.  "There's an armory to the southeast, you'll be able to catch up if you ride fast.  Go!"

She went, and I turned my attention to the north.  Wil fell in with us as easily as though he'd been fighting with us for months, finishing off any of the bandits that the knights and Lyn couldn't get in one shot.  The boy really was an amazing shot, firing directly into melee without fear of hitting any of the others.  That short bow of his did not have much range, but it was accurate, and he could easily adjust it to work with a mounted cavalier or a swordsman on foot, which was useful when Lyn kept dodging between the two knights.  She ruined any shot I might have made, but Wil just took her into account smoothly, and adjusted neatly to the vacillating heights of his allies.

_He's good._  I thought, and he was.  I found it a little difficult to believe that he'd gotten this sort of training in whatever backwater village he came from, but it was not really my part to care about that sort of thing.  It was enough that he had the skills.  Finally, when all of the bandits were either dead or incapacitated, we surrounded the ringleader (who was hiding behind the ruins feebly).  To my surprise, Lyn sheathed her sword as we approached.  Kent and Sain did likewise.  Gratefully, I noticed that Wil kept an arrow nocked, he at least seemed to have some sense of self-preservation.  Florina came flying in from the rear, a newer, more substantial lance at hand.  I smiled approval at her, and she grinned shyly back at me.  We came to a halt at some distance from the bandit, but Lyn stepped ahead of us and raised her voice.

"You there!  Are you a Taliver?"  she said the word like it was so much garbage in her mouth, spitting it out before it could linger on her tongue.  The bandit looked incensed.

"A'course not, ya ninny!  Them Taliver's dogs, every las' one of 'em.  We at least got some decency, won't kill women."  He pondered that for a moment, sliding a fat finger along his axe's blade.  "After all, why kill what ya can sell later?"

Lyn growled, but some of the anger receded from her voice.  "If you are not Taliver, there's no need for you to die here today.  Accept Florina's apology and get out of my sight, and we'll let you live.  It's better than what your lackeys got, better than you deserve."

Her voice was chill, but the bandit did not seem to notice.  "I'll have none o' yer apologies, missie!  Draw your swords!"

He roared and raised his axe high into the air, and Lyn drew the Mani Katti, then braced herself for a heavy blow.

"Lyn, get out of the way!"  I shouted to her, but she did not listen.  Kent and Sain fumbled at their sword sheathes, and everything seemed to move in slow motion.  The bandit's axe came down…and an arrow blossomed in his chest, stopping him in mid-run.  I whipped around on Peaches, and saw Wil fitting another arrow to his bow even as the bandit struggled to pull the last one out.  Lyn slashed the man neatly across the chest twice, and as he tried to lift his axe for a last attack, Wil fired an arrow that embedded itself in his neck.  The bandit went down, his huge axe clattering to the ground.  Kent, Sain, and Lyn turned to look at me expectantly, and I face-faulted.

"Yes?"

"What, no witty comments?"  Kent asked wryly.

"Shut up."

And we all had a good laugh.  Wary of more bandits, I cautioned against an impromptu wine party, and we moved on.  I paid little attention to the others, I was thinking about the battle, what had gone right and what had gone wrong, until Sain's loud voice rang out.

"Dear Florina, I have a most brilliant idea!  With Wil here, we're a fine group of mercenaries, and freelance to boot!"

"Wait, did you just include me?"

"You must travel with us!"

I groaned softly under my breath.  _Just what I needed.__  A high-strung baby and her flying horse._

"Eek!  Don't get so close!"

"So beautiful and yet so modest!"

"Do you mind if I join up?"  Wil asked me.  "Lyn doesn't seem to have a problem with it."

I sighed.  "It's not like I have a choice in the matter.  At least you're sane."

"I'm not Sain, I'm Wil."

_It's going to be a loooooong trip to Caelin._

Author's Note:  Ugh, bad chapter.  Sorry about this one, I hope the next will be better.


	5. In Occupation's Shadow

Chapter 5:  In Occupation's Shadow

_His eyes were dark and shadowed then,_

_He seemed to be the worst of men._

_But then I saw him with his wife,_

_Saw his patient, peaceful love of life._

"This'll do nicely."  Wil said, as he appraised the ruined building that clung to the tip of the hill we were standing on.  It was nearly sundown, and the lighting was beginning to fade, but it was easy enough to see that the building did not have more than a decade left to its name.  Walls sagged, doors had crumbled, and a nasty draft blew straight from one end through the other.  The roof was long gone, and had surprisingly been cleared away.

"This pit?"  Sain replied, aghast.  "Can't we find anything better?  It's falling apart, man!"

I sighed, and let Wil explain.  "The territory here isn't any better off than the mountain villages, Sain.  With the bandits, there isn't much coin flowing, and even less food, we'd never be welcome at a local pub.  We are sort of a large group, you know."

"It's fine."  Lyn pronounced, and dismounted smoothly.  I always envied her dismount, she slid as easily off that huge beast of hers as if he was a pony.  It usually took me a few minutes to work out the cramps and aches, and even then Peaches tended to help me.  Ah, well, can't have everything, can we?  "Besides, I much prefer sleeping where I can see the stars."

_Yeah, you spent your life in a tent._

"I'm fine as long as I'm with you, Lyn!"  gushed the purple-haired pegasus rider.  I winced, her voice was as shrill as could be, and the honey that dripped from it wasn't fake.  Somehow that made listening to it even worse.  She, too, dismounted gracefully, nearly all Ilians were born on horseback.

"And I, Sain, your man-at-arms, shall sleep by your sides, my good ladies, to protect you!"

Sain made as though to jump down from his horse and race inside, but Kent interrupted.  "Sain, you and I will be on watch.  Come, let Thunder graze over here."

I chuckled when the red-haired knight winked at me behind his cohort's back, and followed the ladies into the building.  Wil opted to stay outside with the guards and horses.  I noticed that Florina's pegasus followed her inside, and gave him a wary look.  He gazed back at me evenly, as if to ask "What, you have a problem?", and I shook my head.  Inside, we found more ruins, though the structure seemed fairly sound, what was left of it.  I was relieved that our shelter would not be collapsing over my head in the night.  Lyn wandered off, and I commandeered Florina to help me lay out the blankets.  That blasted pegasus eyed me evilly, but I just stared him down and handed his mistress two bedrolls and got to my own task.

"Florina, how do you know Lyn?"  I asked her, as I smoothed out Wil's bedroll.  The girl did not answer for a few moments, but I was not offended.  She might have been high-strung, and too quiet for her own good, but I knew that was only out of shyness, and out of a certain care for choosing her words before they left her mouth.

"The Lorca tribe sometimes ranged near the Ilian mountains, to hunt for rare pelts and the buffalo herds that run the fields at the mountains' base.  We've been trading with each other for years…"  Her eyes grew misty.  "Well, we _had_ been trading for years, anyway.  My father was a trader, and sometimes Mother let him bring me and my sisters along on his trade runs.  Lyn saved me from a sandstorm, and we became friends.  Even when I was in training, I came to visit her."

I dropped my bedroll from surprise.  _Little Florina, making clandestine runs down the mountain to visit her plainsman friend?__  Of all the Ilians to…Oh, I guess I shouldn't be shocked by anything I hear about this crew anymore.  But why does she look so sad?_

Florina never precisely looked happy, and her face always seemed to have a wistful, dreamy quality, but now her lips turned down and her eyes darkened.  "My sisters didn't like it when I flew down to visit Lyn."

_Whoa, loads of crud there.  Don't touch it, Joe._  "I'm sure they were only trying to protect you, Rina."

That time, she dropped Lyn's bedroll.  "What did you just call me?"

I blinked.  "Rina.  Why?"

She gathered up the blanket hurriedly and started smoothing it out again, not looking at me.  "Oh, nothing."

And that was the end of that conversation.

"Josef, could you lay out an extra roll?"

Lyn's voice rang out clearly from around several corners.  She seemed to be in the inner sanctum of the keep/temple/wreck that we had taken up residence in.

"Why?"  I called out loudly.

"I'm not going to scream across five walls and a door to talk to you!  Just do it!"

I grumbled, and Florina hid a grin.  A few moments later, I heard heavy, irregular footsteps, the gait of a cripple.  I frowned, wondering who Lyn was intending to put up for the night.  She came into view a little after that, looking irrepressible as usual, and a pretty woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties limped in behind her.  I took a look at the woman's legs and sighed.  There was no peg or cast or boot to help her walk, and that meant that she'd been born with a deformity.  Magic could do nothing for a disability like that, healing magic could only return wounds to their former healthy state.  If the leg had never been whole to begin with, nothing short of wondrous surgery would fix her walk, and she would never be able to run.

"This is Natalie."  Lyn said, and the woman smiled at me warmly.  I returned the gesture with a little bow, and she blushed very slightly, little spots of pink appeared on her cheeks, and were gone before I blinked next.

"Pleased to meet you, Natalie."

"Natalie, this is Josef.  He's the reason I'm here today."

"Oh, so we're going to forget about the two ugly bandits?"

"Don't interrupt!"

Lyn punched at my arm playfully, and I made threatening gestures toward her ponytail.  Natalie laughed, a husky noise that belied her fragile exterior.  She spoke with a country accent, but her words were well-formed, and there was only a tiny thread of the pile of horse manure the bandits had been spewing at our ears.  "Honored, sirrah.  Hope you don't be a minding, I know it's a mite hard to feed extra mouths these days."

I shook my head.  "No trouble.  We aren't far from our destination, and we have plenty of food.  We'll be happy to break heads…er…bread with you."

The woman's eyes widened slightly at my slip, and I grinned sheepishly.  Lyn glared and Florina's mouth dropped open.  "Sorry, we've run into a lot of bandits on the way here.  That sort of thing tends to make a body bloody-minded."

"It's all right."  She told me, after a few moments of awkward silence.  "Me husband would understand, I'd be thinking.  Man's had to rescue me more than once from those rough types.  Too many of 'em these days.  Too many."

_Oh, you don't know the half of it, lady._

"What's your husband like?"

"Oh!  Here be a picture of him, if you do be wanting to see it."

The painting was done with cheap paints, but there was talent there.  Something about the way that she gazed at it told me that she had painted it.  The man in the picture was not a handsome one, he was too serious looking and far too muscular.  He had red hair that was darker than Kent's, more the color of blood.  His clothes were…

"Yellow?"  I couldn't help it, the word rolled out of my mouth before I could stop it.  Natalie just laughed, though.

"Oh, those clothes.  'Cas uses 'em to work in.  First set I ever made for him.  Meant to make 'em a light brown.  You can see how they turned out, eh?"

Lyn and I looked at the painting for a few moments.  It showed Natalie's husband cutting wood, his sleeves rolled all the way up.  The axe he held looked like it had been made there, she'd somehow captured an ease with weapons in the faded watercolor.  "Was your husband a warrior before he married you?"

"Aye.  Heavy axe.  Never talks much about it, though." 

"He looks like a kind man."  Florina put in, and Natalie beamed.

"He do be, at that, lass.  A very good man."

_She loves him._  I thought, and smiled.  So few married for love, and it seemed that these two had done so.  I started to ask Natalie what had brought her here, but then I heard the sound of metal clashing, and shot to my feet.  "What's that?"

"Bandits!"  Wil cried out from the entrance.

"Oh, for the love of…Lyn?"

"I'll take the side entrance."

The girl was already on her feet, her hand resting on the hilt of the Mani Katti.

"Exactly what I wanted.  Florina, you'll protect Natalie."

The purple-haired girl nodded, and the pegasus, who had been chewing on a treat of carrots until that moment, nodded as though he approved.

"Go into the inner room, there's only one door, and the walls there are sound at least.  None of them should make it in here, but I want you to be ready, just in case."

"I understand.  Come on, Huey.  Let's help the nice lady get to the back room, then."

Lyn nodded curtly, and we made our way to the side of the building swiftly.

"Be careful, Lyn.  We're close to the border with Lycia, there might be some decent mercs among the meatheads."

"Don't patronize me, Josef.  I can care for myself."

_Who was it that asked me to teach her, way back when?_  I rolled my eyes, but kept my mouth shut.  We staked out at the door, waiting to see if any of the bandits would be smart enough to sneak around the building.  We were rewarded fairly quickly, a huge man with an axe (which looked like a toy in his hand) stalked up to the door moments after we made it.  Lyn gasped.

"Josef, doesn't that man look like Natalie's picture of her husband?"

I called up the memory, compared it to the serene figure coming to slice us up, and decided that Natalie was a damn good artist.  "It's him."

"I can't kill him!"  Lyn said worriedly.  I noticed that her hand stayed on Mani Katti's hilt, though.

"So don't.  Talk to him."

"What?"

"Talk to him.  Tell him that Natalie is here…"

"Duck!"

She grabbed me by my cloak clasp and dragged me down to the ground roughly.  As I prepared to give her a piece of my mind, I caught sight of the hand axe embedded in the wall behind where I had just been standing, and my mouth shut with a click.

"Stay your axe!"  Lyn called out, drawing herself up.  She put up her hands to show that she did not wish to fight, and the man eyed her warily.  He was smart, he did not underestimate her simply because she was a woman.

"What for, lass?"  he asked, in the same accent that Natalie had.

"Because Natalie is here!  Will you cut me down and slay your own wife for gold?  We protect her within this place's walls!"

Lyn's voice was strained, she obviously didn't like the fact that the man had his weapon readied when she could not draw Mani Katti.

"What?  Natalie, here?  How can you know…?"

"How else, but that I tell the truth?"

He sighed, and lowered the small axe.  "You do be right, lass.  My axe to your name.  I be Dorcas." 

"Actually, it would be to mine."  I broke in, and the man frowned as though he had not noticed I was there.  Lyn nodded, though, and he sighed.

"Let me be guessing:  you be the tactician, and she the noble lady in disguise?"

_He _is_ smart._  "You're close.  But there's no time.  I'd like the two of you to go out that entrance and come around to the front, taking out any bandits you see."

They nodded and left.  Once outside, Dorcas leaned over and whispered something to Lyn, and she nodded vigorously.  Just as a bandit ran up the hill, Dorcas swung Lyn up into his arms like a newlywed, and she squealed like a little girl.  The bandit, who had had his eye on Lyn the whole time he'd run up, grunted from disappointment and ran past them.  He failed to notice that Lyn had a sword sheathed at her waist.  The problem was rather well remedied when she slit his throat with it as he passed.  Dorcas set her down like she was made of glass, and she beamed at him.  Satisfied that they would be all right together, I headed back inside.  Wil had come back into the main room to help out Florina, and was shooting arrows at a bandit with a misshapen axe while the pegasus rider kept him busy.  But there was something startling about the girl, she was fighting on foot.

_Florina__?__  Why aren't you riding Huey?_  I took a look around, the walls that led into the room where Natalie was hiding were close, and even if the roof was gone, a flier with a wingspan as wide as the pegasus' would be hard pressed to maneuver.  Florina was handling herself well, however.  The axe wielder had scored a bad hit on her leg, but she fought on, whirling the smaller of her lances like it was a spear and poking at her opponent with it.  She didn't do much damage, the man was wearing heavy leather armor, but that wasn't her objective.  The fight went on for a few more breaths, until Wil scored a hit to the man's unprotected throat.  The bandit collapsed, choking on his own blood.

"How did he get in?"  I asked, as I poured vulnerary onto a bandage for Florina's leg.  She leaned on her lance to keep the weight off of it and grimaced most unprettily.

"A mercenary broke down a part of the west wall.  I took care of him, but then the man with the axe came, and I…"

Her face fell, and she leaked a few tears as I wrapped the bandage around her wound.

"Don't worry, it'll be all right in a few minutes.  It's not your fault you have trouble against axes, Florina, that's the bane of any man's lance work.  Where is Huey?"

I helped her sit down, and it was actually Wil who answered the question.  "You mean her horse, right?  He flew off over the wall for some reason."

"Huey know how to fight, Josef.  He'll be all right."

_As if I was worrying about the blasted horse!  _"Well, that's good.  Wil, you cover Florina until she can fight again, I'm going to catch up with the cavaliers."

"Understood."  Wil was all business, nocking an arrow as I turned away.  I raced up to the front entrance, where I saw that Sain and Kent had already taken care of their own batch of bandits.  Sain was wiping his sword on a bit of cloth while Kent watched for any more enemies.  I hailed them quietly and came up behind Kent.

"It's probably safe for you to go for the leader now, Kent.  They'll probably run off anyway, but I'd really prefer that we didn't have to deal with them on the way to Lycia.  If you take care of it now, they'll be disorganized enough that they won't follow us."

"But that would leave the front entrance undefended.  I was taught in my basic tactics classes never to do such a thing."

"You have Florina and Wil to hold down the fort, they'll do just fine.  I'd keep one of you, but you work well together, and you'll do better if you can watch each other's backs."

Kent gave me a look of wary disapproval, but Sain beamed like the sun.  "Kent, you old rot bucket!  Have you no sense of glory?  Does your blade not thirst for evil blood?"

"Um, that's not exactly what I meant."

"Enough!  Onward, and I shall have no argument!"

And Sain was off.  Kent sighed and shook his head, digging his heels lightly into his gelding's flanks.  The big horse took off after Sain, and I watched their backs apprehensively.

_I put on a brave face, but I'm just as worried as he is.  There might still be some stragglers, and Florina's wounded.  Potions help, but they don't do everything.  I don't want to lose any of them, but…sometimes we have to take risks.  I can't roll the dice and hope they won't land on, "Bandits come, kill men in sleep, rape women and drag them off to be sold.".  No, this was the best decision._

The two cavaliers met a bandit halfway between the ruins and the boss, but Sain practically rode over him, letting out a deep roar I hadn't thought his cultured throat was not capable of.  Again, I turned to go back inside the building.  When I got back, Florina was looking less pale and even smiling a little.  Wil still had an arrow trained, and nearly loosed it at me out of nerves.

"Peace."  I called out, and he eased his arm.  "No, don't."

"But…you're here, so we must have won, right?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?  Don't let down your guard until I tell you to."

He glared at me and drew back his bowstring.  "My arm hurt."

"Yes, well it won't be just your arm if a bandit gets through here."

I heard the sound of heavy feet run down the hall towards me and whirled, just in time to catch the ugly face and breathe of a bandit.  I have to tell you, I really thought it was the end there, and I really don't like thinking about how I was saved.  A split second after the man raised his axe to cleave me in two, I heard a familiar neigh of anger, and the man went down beneath half a ton of horse flesh and hooves.  Huey stamped on the corpse until it was little more than dust and then whinnied triumphantly.  I took a step back, and another, and the horse folded his wings neatly behind his neck and looked me in the eye.  "You owe me.", those eyes said, and I nodded to show that I understood.  He pranced over to Florina, stamping blood away from his hooves neatly, and I sank to my knees, let my arms fall to my sides limply.  I closed my eyes, the sight of the pulped barbarian was too much for me to bear, and I had thought that I had a strong stomach.  I heard the sound of two sets of hooves and a pair of boots, but could not open my eyes to see what it was.  A few moments later, I heard the familiar shush of silk as Lyn knelt beside me.  She smelled of sweat and blood, but somehow the scent on her was comforting.  Not pleasant, but firm.

"Josef, are you all right?"

She said that even before she caught her breath, with gaps between the words to draw in air.  I let a small smile creep onto my face, and she actually threw her arms around me.

"I'm fine, Lyn."  I assured her, and she squeezed my shoulders lightly.  "We're all fine."

Author's Note:  Wow, thanks for all the support, guys.  I'll do my best to see this thing through, thank you all for your comments.  Sorry this update took so long, my SD3 fanfic needed some long overdue attention.  Oh, and about the dialect; I'm trying out something new, hope you all liked it.  


	6. Beyond the Border

Chapter Six:  Beyond the Border

_A noisy wench with a healing staff,_

_All raucous voice and piercing laugh.___

_A gentle boy with a magic tome,_

_The cleric's weary escort home._

We caught sight of the hamlet at around noon, everyone talking cheerfully and looking much recovered from the last battle's rigors.  My instinct had been right, the bandits had not been able to work up enough organization to attack us.  Though I still had a niggling feeling of doubt, I pushed it aside in favor of the idea that we'd actually get to sleep in beds that night.  Huey was tired from the several days that we'd been traveling, so Florina rode along with everyone else, and somehow I got stuck next to the girl.  She was not my ideal riding companion, she smiled little and talked less than that, but at least she wasn't Sain.  From the way that she kept snatching wary looks over her shoulder at him, I gathered that she rather felt the same about the man.  Dorcas and Lyn had hit it off quite well, and he was relating one of his old war stories to her, with too many technical descriptions of the melee for it to be of any interest to me.  They rode at the head of the column, with Florina and I directly behind.  Bringing up the rear were Kent, Sain, and Wil (who rode double with Sain, and the Sky knows how they bore that).  They were discussing, predictably enough, women.

I struck up conversation with Florina to pass the time until we reached the town.  "Florina, what is your homeland like?"

She snatched back from one of those worried looks at Sain and blushed.  Her index finger and thumb slid up and down the reins, something that she did whenever she felt nervous or pressured.  "Do you not know, Josef?  I thought you had a good enough education to know…"

"Oh, I know all about Ilia, my teacher always babbled about it whenever we were discussing winter warfare.  But still, learning from a book isn't really the same as hearing about it from someone who's actually lived there."  I paused.  Now that I'd gotten into the conversation, I realized that I really didn't want to make small talk.  But if I stopped it, she'd have been offended, so I tried to deflect the subject.  "You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to."

"No, it's all right.  You just surprised me.  The place where I lived, Mizuyama, was always covered with snow.  Most of Ilia is snowbound all year 'round, but I guess you knew that, didn't you?  Um…In the spring, we sometimes planted crops, but we never got much.  Mountain soil isn't good for growing things, and the cold doesn't help."

"That's why the Ilian trade is the lance, right?"

She nodded, a bit sadly.  "Yes, that's why.  Sometimes, people who don't really want to become mercenaries have to, so they can feed their families."

I wanted to ask, "Were you one of those people?", but decided against it when she pressed her lips together, distressed.  "Florina, would you fly on ahead and prepare the innkeeper for our arrival?  I'm sure he'd appreciate it, since we're such a large group.

"I…all right."

"Huey's not too tired for that, is he?"

The pegasus glared at me, but I ignored him.  "No, Huey's fine."

"Then go.  Huey will have first pick of blankets and mash then, won't he?"

The winged horse seemed a little mollified at that, and went willingly into the swift gallop that allowed him to lift off of the ground.  It never ceased to amaze me, that.  Pegasi truly were special creatures, with a magic that bore most of their body weight while they flew.  When they bonded with a rider, they could extend that magic to their riders, making them able to carry as much in the air as they could while they walked.  Extraordinary creatures.  They were all extremely smart, and if that meant sometimes they were a bit mean, well, they were pretty.  I rode by myself for a few moments, quietly contemplating, before Kent spurred his horse up to meet mine.

"A copper for your thoughts, Josef."

"You'd be wasting your coin, sir knight."

"I'm sure it would be worth the tankard or so that I lost for it.  Were you thinking about the girl?"

I nodded, and he shook his head solemnly.  "There is a sadness about her that I have never seen before.  It fades somewhat when she speaks with the Lady Lyndis, but always else she is lost in her own thoughts, unless she is fighting.  Then, she applies herself with a discipline that makes me look like Sain on a particularly bad day."

"Ilian mercenaries are trained to be that way, Kent."  I reminded him, but he waved that aside with a small hand gesture.

"True, but I have met some Ilians in my life.  They are sober to a fault, but they are also human, they all have likes and dislikes, things that they enjoy.  Florina seems to find little joy in life outside the Lady and her steed."

"Isn't that enough?"

"Perhaps."

Something about the way he looked at me makes me think that he wanted to say more, but he was rather conveniently cut off by Florina's return.  Girl and horse came flying out of the air to an ungraceful landing, most likely coming near to breaking Huey's legs seven or eight times.  She was flushed, and looked worried.

"More bandits!"  she gasped, and loosed her lance from its holster swiftly.  I gaped at her.

"Here?  They followed us?  Blast them, I wanted to sleep in a _bed_ tonight!"

She nodded to show that she sympathized, but the urgency did not leave her face.  Lyn, Wil, and Dorcas were already dismounting, and the horsemen stood ready, awaiting my orders.  I sighed.

"Florina, what are their numbers?"

"I don't know, there are too many trees.  For all I know, twenty, or thirty!"

I smacked a hand to my forehead irritably.  "I doubt that very much.  Still, my teacher always told me, "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst".  He gave good advice."

"Hey, look!"

Wil pointed up at the sky beyond a patch of trees.  I followed his finger, and saw the ball of flames that appeared out of thin air there.  They hurled themselves down into the trees, and I heard screaming noises a few moments later.

"Someone is using magic."  Dorcas said matter-of-factly.  I nodded.

"Exactly.  And whoever it is probably isn't with the bandits.  Maybe they'll be wanting help.  All right, this is how we'll do it.  Kent, Sain, I want you to go around to the north side of the forest and take out any bandits you meet.  Don't worry about us, and don't turn back, keep going.  Once you're around the hill, you'll be well into the town, we'll meet you there.  Wil, I want you to follow them, but keep an eye on the woods as they pass by in case they miss something."

Sain bristled at the idea that he would be so negligent, but Kent gave an enthusiastic affirmative.  "Will do, Josef."  Replied the archer, and the three of them set off around the north side of the hill.  I turned to the other three, and another fireball went off behind my back.  "Dorcas, the bandits usually either have swords or axes, so you need to be careful.  Florina, you'll be taking the direct route over the hill, take care to get any of the buggers that are hiding in the heart of the woods, we don't want them stealing into camp tonight when we aren't looking.  'Cas, you cover her."

Florina looked absolutely petrified, and Dorcas grim.  I caught Florina's arm as she mounted and whispered into her ear, "I know you don't like men, Florina, but this is the best place for you on this battlefield.  If you can't get over it, then you may as well just go home."

She bit her lip and mounted.  Her answer was to take off above the treetops and head up the face of the hill.  I turned to Lyn, who was glaring at me as usual.

"What did you say to her?"

"That's none of your business, _Lady Lyndis_."

She unsheathed the Mani Katti, which glowed menacingly.  "I'll _make_ it my business if you don't tell me, tactician."

"With that?"  I pointed contemptuously at the holy sword.  "You know the Mani Katti won't injure innocents."

"Whoever said you were innocent?"

She had me there.  "All I did was give her some pre-battle pep talk, Lyn."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't much care."

We were interrupted from our impromptu argument by a high-pitched squeal of delight that went up several octaves past "piercing".  I almost wondered why the village hounds didn't come running.

"Oh Erky, look!  People in need!  Could we ever have asked for a better opportunity?  St. Elimine truly smiles on her daughters!"

"I have some doubt that you came from any woman's womb, Serra."

"Oh Erky, you think I'm an angel!  How quaint!"

"Actually, I was thinking more demonic…"

I could hear their conversation quite clearly, they were only a few paces away.  Lyn was too busy stifling giggles, so I took it upon myself to feel them out.  "You there, who are you?"

The loud one was a tall girl with carnation pink pigtails that hung down past her waist, dressed in a white cleric's gown with purple trim.  She held a long, slender rod in her left hand, something I recognized as a variation on the staff an old monk friend of mine had carried.  It was used for healing, though in her hands, it seemed more like to cause wounds than heal them.  Her companion, who stood slightly behind her, a grim expression in his eyes and on his lips, carried a thick tome, about as long as his forearm.  It was red, nearly matching the crimson of his cloak.  I recognized him as the mage who had cast the fire spells by the rather unfortunate hat he wore.  I still haven't quite figured out why mages wear them, to this day.  The loud girl raced up to me with unholy speed and grasped my hand with her own.

"I am Serra, a cleric!  A priestess of the faith, no less.  Sister Ice is strong in me!"

I'm afraid that I deadpanned at that moment, but she seemed not to notice, bowling on past in the conversation as if I'd just given her a compliment worthy of a queen.  "Oh, you're so cute!  Much cuter than my escort.  Yes, I think that no comparison may be made!"

The mage gave me a look of sympathy and shook his head.  "Be careful, she's a monster."

"Oh Erky, you're so funny!  That's Erky, my mage escort.  He's been commanded to take poor, fragile me to Ostia!"

_Fragile?__  I doubt a hungry dragon would tangle with you, woman!_

The mage called Erk opened his magical tome and began to flip through its pages.  "She actually speaks the truth, for once, I am her escort."

Lyn was still laughing uncontrollably, apparently Serra had not noticed her yet.  "I…ah...may I help you?"  I asked the cleric, who was hanging off of my arm and making eyes at me.  She suddenly jerked up, backed away several paces and pointed at me accusingly.

"We were just traveling on through the forest, when these ickle bandits attacked us!  They think we're with you, so it's all your fault!"

"Actually, Serra, it was because you're a meddling…"

_Don't say it, friend._  I crossed my fingers behind my back, and Serra looked ready to explode, but Erk did not continue, instead flipping pages in his book nonchalantly.  "At any rate, we should be going."  He started walking back the way that Lyn and I had come, but Serra reached out and grasped his cape.

"You people look like you could use a healing hand!"

Lyn wiped tears away and brought up the Mani Katti, trying to emulate seriousness.  "Indeed, it would be better if we all fought together, since the two of you were dragged into this by your actions."

Serra blinked as though she had just noticed Lyn standing there, but her eyes strangely seemed to gloss over the green-haired plainswoman.  Erk, however, looked up from his book, caught Lyn's eyes and held them.  "That would be welcome, good lady.  I could take on these bandits by myself…"

"…but fighting is always easier with company."  I finished for him.  _By the seven heroes, what am I getting myself into?_  "Would you care to join us, then?"

"I've always wanted to save a wandering band of mercenaries!"

"More likely they'll be trying to save themselves from you."

"You're so right, Erky!  The man will probably faint at first sight of my wondrous beauty!"

"Yes, wondrous beauty."

We met with a couple of bandits on the way, but Erk easily fried the first, and Lyn took care of the second.  Serra was in a tizzy by the time we'd reached town (though admittedly, Serra's tizzies tended to be frequent and long-lasting), since she'd not gotten the opportunity to heal anyone yet.

_I wonder what'll happen when she meets Sain…_

As we descended the hill into town, and the two cavaliers, with Wil in tow, came into view, Sain waved up at us.  Erk, who walked beside me, his nose still buried in that tome of fire magic, mumbled a question at me, low enough that neither of the women could hear it.

"Do you have any, er…excitable men in your party?"

I blinked.  "What do you mean?"

He flicked his eyes over to Serra momentarily, and I caught the drift of what he was saying.  "You mean…Oh no."

"What is this?  Yet another lovely lady to add to the ranks to of Lyn's Legions?  Oh, how your face shines like the sun in glory…"

We made it down, and no sooner had Serra stopped walking than Sain had appeared before her (literally, appeared, I never saw him run up to her), grasped her hand and bent down on one knee.  She looked down at him, blushed slightly, then applied the blunt end of her rod to the side of his head.

"Pervert!"

The look in Erk's eyes said, "I told you so."

The rest of the battle was easy, merely clean up.  Lyn got a rather interesting cut across her breast, but Serra healed it before any of the rest of us got a look.  Aside from that, the only interesting bit that happened occurred as we decided what to do next.  I was about to mount Peaches, and Erk was holding the reins of his and his charge's horses, when Serra sidled up to me and batted her eyelashes coyly.  "Oh Josef?"

"Yes, Sister Serra?"  I winced, and slid back down to the ground.  Peaches let out a snort and tossed her mane to show her annoyance.  "Get on or stay off", she might have said.

"Why so formal, Josef?  You know me well enough to simply call me by name."

"I only met you a few hours ago."

"Still, I feel like I know you.  Perhaps that is the result of fighting side-by-side?"

Erk rolled his eyes and came over.  "What the good sister means to ask you is, would you like our aid?  Lyn has told us her story, and my charge wishes to aid you in your cause."

This time, his eyes said, "Don't say yes!  PLEASE don't say yes!"  I wanted to say no, really I did, but we would need all the help we could muster if we were to infiltrate Caelin properly.  I weighed the benefits against the obvious downsides, and made the decision.

"We would welcome your support in the coming battles."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Did you hear that, Erky?  We're going to _Caelin__!_"

_Gods help me, what have I done?_

As they mounted, she her perfectly white palfrey, and he his bay gelding, I wondered at the level of eccentricity this group had.  _Lyn's Legions indeed.__  Well, we've made it past the border.  Only fate knows where we'll go from here._

Author's Note:  Glad to see you're all still with me.  ^^  Yes, Slink, I do write the poems myself.  Sorry there wasn't much action in this one, it always goes so quickly for me.  I hope I did Serra and Erk justice.


	7. Blood of Pride

Chapter Seven:  Blood of Pride

_A wily man in a crimson cloak,_

_Hears every word as it is spoke._

_An exiled horseman with narrow eyes,_

_Who longs to see his homeland's skies._

Lyn rode with Florina this time, and I was pleased to see that the girl had gained more animation just in the few weeks she'd been travelling with us.  It was nice to think that at least someone was gaining something from this trip.  Sain still sported a lovely bruise from his encounter with the cleric; she had not bothered to heal it for him.

_I only hope I won't have to fight her to get her to heal him in battle.  She can beat him up all she likes when we're not engaged, but she'd best be listening to orders as soon as swords start clashing._

More than one healer's died that way, by ignoring her superior's orders.  In his efforts to teach me about every possible scenario I could stuff into my skull, my master had ingrained several stories like that into me, St. Elimine's not being the least.  The woman had been an unparalleled healer, but there had been a time when she went against Roland's orders, a time that few people remembered and fewer people spoke of.  That time, she had almost died, and Roland suffered for it when he saved her.  Still, it had always been for the sake of healing and light that Elimine did what she did.  I surveyed Serra, and decided that, even if there was no comparison to the master of light magic that Elimine had been, there must be something of the woman about her.  All true scions of the gods bore a certain light about them, as though they were touched by something otherworldly.  Erk was riding next to her; he called it, "controlling collateral damage", and I was rather inclined to agree with him.  I suspected that Kent rode with Sain for pretty much the same reason.

This left Dorcas as my riding partner, and he never talked.  We had negotiated his contract before leaving the ruins and Natalie, but after that, he spoke not at all.  He was always looking off into the distance, and his eyes looked as though the world bored him.  I never tried to talk to him like I did Florina, words seemed immaterial whenever I looked at him.  So I rode in silence, wondered what the next day would bring to us.

When Kent called the halt for the evening, the sun was just shy of passing down into the earth's embrace.  I was exhausted, and so was everyone else, except Serra.  That one complained every five minutes about how a "proper lady" should not have to put up tents and wash dishes.  Lyn who had been helping the girl with the poles of her tent, soon grew tired of her escapades and dropped the poles to the ground before stalking away.

I remember what the cleric looked like in that instant, in the moment when Lyn turned her back away from her and left to help Florina.  Terror skittered into her eyes, but she wrenched it away, whirling around as though she thought someone might see.  After that, she stormed away, ostensibly to take a bath, probably to cry.  

True darkness fell, and we lit a fire to cook the food before everyone went to bed.  All of the tents were up, except Serra's.  Dinner came and passed, and she still had not returned.  Lyn asked Erk if someone should be sent out to look for her, and he simply went on sipping his soup, shaking his head in that knowing way of his to show that it had happened before.

"She'll sneak into camp when we're all asleep, and pretend like she was here the whole time come morning.  Just roll with it, her grip on reality is tenuous as it is."

"Erk…"

"If you go to look for her, she will only get angry.  And trust me, Lyndis, you do not want to see her truly angry."

As the tactician of the group, I was fortunate enough to have a tent to myself, but that meant that the dark interior of the tent looked particularly uninviting in light of the worry I was feeling.  As I sank down onto the blankets, I let my thoughts go for a little while to see where they might take me.

_Why does that blasted girl worry me so much?  She's a grown woman by the standards of her church, Erk's only along because she hasn't learned light magic yet.  She can take care of herself, and she's probably taken care of plenty of people.  So why am I going all big-brotherly on her like this?_

I was startled out of my reverie by the soft sound of wood entering soft earth nearby, someone was pounding a tent pole into the ground.  After a few moments to check my mental inventory, I remembered that Serra's was the only one left to put up.  She had her own like I did, but she'd spurned Lyn's help, and it had never been put up.

"Oof!"

The exclamation was stifled, but I was close enough to tell that it was definitely male.  I pushed back that blankets and looked out through the tentflaps.  All of the other tents were dark, most likely everyone had fallen straight to sleep after the day's hard ride.  Over to my right, though, was a tent pole sticking up into the moonlight.  I remember smiling when I saw who it was that was putting up Serra's tent, it certainly wasn't Erk.  Sain had the tent up in half the time it would have taken Serra to do it, and that would have been _with_ Lyn's help.  I fell back into my tent and went to sleep, I'd let the man keep his secrets.

"Ah, Araphen.  Back in civilized lands once again.  Meaning no offense, milady."

I swear, Sain tripped over his tongue more often than a stripling with two left feet and a lisp.

"None taken, Sain.  Where is Kent?"

"He told me this morning that he was planning to ride in ahead of the main party to discuss supplies with the Marquess."  replied the green-clad knight, and he patted Thunder on the nose to keep him distracted as the blacksmith lifted the stallion's hoof.  We were standing in front of the blacksmith's shop, getting our horses' shoes checked for damage.  The land in Sacae had been rough, hard on the horses' feet, and you can't ride a lame horse.  Lyn and I stood to the side, Peaches already done with her inspection, and Windancer awaiting his.

"It's midday now, where is he?  It doesn't take four hours to talk with a marquess about food and tents, surely?"

I laughed at the frightened look in Lyn's eyes.  "Scared by the thought of being closeted with one of your fellow nobles for extended periods of time, Lady Lyndis?  You're aware that the aristocracy has a whole slew of parties every year, and you just _have_ to attend them."

Lyn's eyes widened quite nicely at that moment, and she gripped her horse's reins a bit tighter.

"Oh yes, the Lord Pent entertained guests daily at his dinner table.  I was permitted to leave early, since I was only his student, but his dinners have been known to take two, even three hours to complete."

I winked at Erk when Lyn wasn't looking, he'd popped in at exactly the right moment.  He didn't look back; he was, to all appearances, reading his book, and entirely serious.  Serra blinked, she'd been trying to sneak a peek at the mage's book without success.

"Parties?"

"Yes, Serra, parties."

"Oh I just love parties!  Will there be cake?  And what about those excellent little pastries they always put out among the appetizers?  The ones filled with cherries?  Erky, are you listening to me?"

I took pity on Lyn, whose eyebrows were about to join her bangs.  "It's really not all that bad, Lyn.  Nobles do have a lot of work to do, especially in such a great city as Araphen.  The Marquess here must have thirty, perhaps forty petitions to deal with on a daily basis, and it is only worse on the feast days.  If Kent arrived in the morning, he might be relegated to the very last, since petitioners usually must sign in for a place the day before."

Sain frowned at that.  "But milord, surely Kent will have priority, since he is from Caelin?"

I shook my head.  "Not with this Marquess.  The ruler of Araphen is well-known for his xenophobia, and it certainly doesn't extend just to the plainsmen.  Most likely, he saw that Kent was a simple knight commander from another territory, and relegated him the last spot on the ledger.  Petitions usually take all morning, so it's not surprising that Kent isn't back yet."

"Oh, Josef, you're so knowledgeable!"  Serra gushed.  "Where did you learn all this?  Are you a noble too?"

That was just like Serra, to blurt out the question everyone else was thinking but did not want to ask.  I kept calm, though, and explained, "I learned my craft in a noble house, so it's only to be expected that I learned something of the way nobles operate."

Lyn looked like she wanted to ask more, but the blacksmith finished with Thunder at that moment, and called her over so he could look at her mount's hooves.  Serra, of course, had the attention span of a young gerbil, and was already going back to her game of "Catch-the-Fire-Tome".  As I was feeding Peaches her customary fruit, Kent rode up to us, looking quite pleased with himself, and none the worse for his relations with the marquess.

"Milady Lyndis!"

I stopped him before he rode up to her, she was busy keeping Windancer calm as the blacksmith replaced a faulty shoe.  "What is it, Kent?"

He ran a hand through his red hair and smiled.  "The marquess has agreed to aid us in our journey to Caelin, we should proceed to the castle at once."

"Did you show him the list of supplies I gave you?"

The cavalier nodded enthusiastically.  "His seneschal is already preparing them as we speak!"

It took a few minutes, but the blacksmith finished with Windancer's new shoe in record time, and Lyn came over to join us.  Kent fairly bounced in his saddle.

"You seem pleased, Kent," Lyn said as she Windancer's saddle onto his back, "what did the marquess say?"

"He has agreed to aid us in any way he can, milady.  We should go, if you are finished here."

"We are.  Let's get moving."  she turned to Serra, who was combing her hair at that moment.  "Serra, Erk, we're going!"

Erk closed his book with a snap and stood.  "Shall I fetch Dorcas?  He's still at the stable, talking with the grooms."

Lyn shook her head, tossing her ponytail about like some sort of silky whip.  I did notice that she had tiny split ends at the green tips, and was a little relieved to find that she wasn't _totally_ impervious to the elements.  "No, we'll be passing by the stables on the way to the castle anyway.  Is Florina with him?"

"Huey was restless."  I interrupted.  "Florina said she was going to fly him a little to calm him down.  Don't worry, his shoes are fine, we had the smith check before they left."

"And Wil?"

"He's at the stables with Dorcas, yes.  I think he might be trying to get a horse of his own."

_Sky knows I'd be doing the same if I had to ride with Sain._

"Then let's be going."

We dropped the horses off at the stables, though the cavaliers elected to stay mounted.  Kent did it because it was what he always did, but Sain was oddly uneasy.  "I just have the feeling that I should keep Thunder at my side."  he told me, and said no more.  Dorcas and Wil rejoined us there (Wil had indeed managed to find a horse to his liking, a gray mare with pretty eyes), and we prepared to move out as soon as all of our horses were comfortable.  Everyone else exited the stables before me, and when I came out, a peasant was in the town square, shouting his head off.

"Fire!  The castle is on fire!"

Kent caught the man by the wrist and gave him a stern, calming gaze.  "Slowly, friend, the fire will not follow you out here."  Amazingly, the man quieted almost instantly and looked to Kent like the man knew what he was doing.

"I'm sorry, good sir, but the castle really is aflame.  The city is under attack!  Will you help us?"

"We'll do what we can.  Now go to your family."

Gratefully, the poor man sketched a bow and dashed off.  Lyn stepped up to the front of the line so she could speak with Kent, and I followed close behind.

"Kent," she started, but didn't finish the sentence.  Another man, this one dressed in leather armor and carrying a sword, grabbed her sword arm and cut her off.

"You!  You're Lyndis, ain't ya?"

"What…?"

She struggled, and the two cavaliers brought their horses around to attack, but he brought his blade around swiftly to brush against her neck.  A thin trickle of blood flowed out, the sword was obviously sharp.  "Don't, or ye'll be regrettin' it!"

The hoof beats on the pavement were so soft that I wasn't sure I heard them.  I looked up, beyond Lyn's captor, and saw a man on horseback whip out a bow, nock an arrow, and fire the thing, almost too quickly for me to see.  The shaft lanced through the air and entered the back of the man's neck.

"Arrrrg!"  The sword clattered to the ground and Lyn yanked herself free.  The man fell to the ground, grasping at his neck as he choked on his own blood.

"Milady Lyndis!"

"Oh, Lyn, are you all right?"

The green-haired swordswoman stood up straight and gazed at her savior.  On horse, he was impressive, and I could see that he wore the fancifully embroidered tunic and leather breeches of a plainsman, though his choice of color was more tasteful than most.  He also had the characteristic green hair.  Kent and Serra rushed up behind her, Kent bringing his horse between her and the man, and Serra with healing rod raised to do its work.  I met the man's eyes, and they narrowed.  He turned his horse to go, but Lyn called out.

"Wait!  Who are you?  You saved me, I owe you a debt, a life debt!  Please…"

He stopped his horse and sized her up.  "My apologies, I thought that a plainswoman was being attacked.  Forgive me for interfering."

"You were right!  I am of the plains.  Lyn of the Lorca!"

His eyes widened, though they never grew so large as an outlander's.  "The Lorca?  There were survivors!"

"Yes, though only I remain now.  Please, your name?"

"It is Rath.  Rath of the Kutolah.  I am captain of the guard.  I must go; it is my duty to defend the castle."

He turned to go again, but this time Lyn pressed past Kent and Serra, neck still dribbling blood, and caught his reins.  "Wait, if the castle is under attack, it is because of me!  You must let us help aid you in the defense!"

"Lyn…"  I walked up and touched her lightly on the back, but she shook my hand away roughly.

"No, Josef, this is something I must do.  If any in the company do not wish to fight, so be it, but I will lend my blade to Rath's cause!"

Her eyes burned again, with that same fire that I'd seen on the plains.  Lyndis was somehow more alive whenever she let loose the half of her that was wild plainswoman.  I shrugged, and no one else spoke.  "At least let Serra heal you first."  I muttered.  Rath nodded graciously.

"If you wish to help, I'll not turn down your aid."

"A direct assault, good sir!  Let us take the gate by force!"

Sain rode up and pointed his sword at the castle, which of course, was where the main fighting was taking place.  I opened my mouth, but I needn't have, since Rath dismissed the idea contemptuously.

"You should listen better to your tactician, knight.  No, I must secure the marquess, then my people will be able to easily take care of fire and foe."

"How do you propose to do that?"  I asked him.  "I don't want a straightforward attack either, but I don't see how much choice we have.  Are there any other ways into the castle?  A sewer, perhaps?"

Serra made an indignant noise at the thought of traipsing through the sewers, but Rath shook his head.  "The marquess told me about a secret passage that led into the castle.  There are three switches needed to activate it."

"Then let's get moving and find those switches!"  Lyn cried, raising her blade high into the air, where the sun's light lanced off of it, making it too bright to behold.  "A thousand blessings upon our people!"

"And a thousand curses upon our enemies."  Replied the plainsman, his voice quiet and even.

Sain started to rein his horse in for a charge, but I shook my head and called him down.  "No, Sain, it's too dangerous for you to go hammering in there on horseback.  If they have any lancers, they'll poke Thunder full of pot metal, and I don't think he'd fancy that too well, do you?  Erk?"

"Yes, milord?"

It was strange, the way Erk always gave me the title, but never did for Lyn.  Everyone else seemed to take it in stride, even Kent, who was so concerned with rank and symbolic aristocracy.  In fact, really the only people who called me by my first name were Lyn and Serra, and I wasn't sure I liked that.

That's not the sort of thing you think about when there are mercenaries hiding around the next bend for you.  "Can you feel out the area at all?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have any scouting magic handy?  I'd like to know where the enemy is and what they're doing, if possible."

"Oh, you mean a spell to see around walls.  That's just a cantrip, I don't even need a book to perform it.  Would you like me to scout the area for you?"

"Please."

The mage closed his eyes and said a few words in the old tongue, "_Dona veritatem ad meum oculum._"  He pressed his fingers into a rough ring, and a rune circle shimmered into existence before him.  Without opening his eyes, he shifted a few runes about, and the circle quavered as he altered the fabric of the spell.  When he got it just right, I heard a magical _click_ in my mind, and recognized it as him homing in on a human being.  I'd worked with mages using this spell in training before, so I knew what to listen for, and being somewhat sensitive to the movements of magic (though I'd never take up a spellbook, bad experiences as a child), I had the sense necessary to "hear".  I heard several more clicks, and there was a long pause before there was a soft tone, like a bell.  Erk's eyebrow rose slightly, and he opened his eyes.  He gathered up the rune circle in his hands and started his report.

"To east, there is a mercenary with a sword and another disguised as an army regular, with a pike."

Sain flushed, and I shrugged to show that Erk should continue.  "Those are just the men I could see out of doors.  There's another pikeman just beyond the wall in a building nearby the one I just mentioned, but the signature was faint, the walls were thick, so I can't really tell you which house.  The really interesting bit is what's in that house over there."  He pointed at a house that lay back the way we'd come, and I caught sight of movement in the window.  "There's a man there, but he isn't hostile."

"That's why the tone instead of the click, right?"

Serra and Erk both raised eyebrows at that.  "You can sense magic, milord?" asked the mage.

I flushed that time, and Serra smiled.  "You're just full of talents, aren't you Josef?"

"That's not important.  The information you gave me is, Erk.  I wish Florina was here, I could use her help for this plan."

As if on cue, I heard the sound of a satisfied whinny, and the pegasus rider and her steed landed lightly on the ground behind me.  "Were you talking about me, milord?"  Florina asked.

_Again with the "milord" thing!  _"I was.  There's a mercenary just around the bend there, he's carrying a sword.  I want you to take him on and keep him busy while the main party rides on through to the end.  Can you do that for me?"

Exhilaration of flight still in her eyes, she nodded and took off again.  I turned to Erk.  "Erk, you'll go in and finish off the swordsman with your magic."

"Understood."

"Dorcas, stay here and guard the horses.  Wil, Sain, Kent, and Serra, you'll be the main group, head straight down the way, and you should come to the lancer.  He'll probably have a key, if he's guarding the building, so take it and use it to open up the building.  If they're guarding it, it must be where one of the panels to open up the secret entrance is."

"Yes sir!"  Sain said, and gratefully prodded Thunder into a canter.  Kent followed suit, with Wil and Serra following behind.  The cleric blew me a kiss as she went, but I rolled my eyes and she went off in a huff.

_And now for the plainsmen…_

"Lyn, and…"

"Rath."  replied the plainsman.  He gazed down at me from his horse.

"Yes, Rath.  Do you have any idea where the other panels might be?  You know this town best, I'm counting on your wits here."

The nomad shook his head.  "I'm afraid I don't even know where to start."

"Try checking north, since that's one of the walls of the castle.  That's where the castle walls break the general pattern, so I'm guessing that's where the secret entrance will be.  Lyn, did you hear what Erk told me?"

"About the man in that house?"

"Exactly.  I want you to check him out, he might turn out to be useful to us.  Join up with the guard captain when you're finished with that."

"All right, Josef.  Be careful."

"I'm good at staying out of sight, don't worry about me."

The two of them set off north, and I moved forward so I could see how Erk and Florina were doing.  As I watched, Florina alighted on the house above the mercenary, startling him enough that Sain and his party rode past almost without notice.  Erk was sneaking up behind the man, his rune circle presumably concealed within his cloak.  Huey gave a grand whinny and took off from the roof of the house, soared into the air and dove back down so Florina could take a pass at the man.  She caught him in the shoulder with her lance, and Huey's momentum slammed him into the ground violently.  The mercenary was not totally inept, however, he slashed the pegasus on the leg with his blade as the flying horse tried to gain altitude again.  Huey neighed angrily, but the wound was not fatal, or even crippling; Florina would be able to keep fighting.  The mercenary levered himself to his feet with his sword, thinking that he'd taken out the pegasus, only to find himself staring down a mage in red with a tome of fire magic at hand.  Erk completed his spell, and twin balls of flame manifested above his conical hat.  He pointed at the mercenary, and the man screamed like a small animal as his flesh turned a crisp black.  Florina landed next to me, looking more than a bit green.  Erk bent over the writhing man, a tiny gout of flame still twining about his fingers.  He formed the fire into a blade and steadied the man forcefully, then used the fire blade to slit his throat.  I nearly emptied my stomach of lunch, but I forced myself to watch.  The mercenary stilled, and the flames in his clothes died.  Erk did vomit then, but he was careful not to let any of it get on the corpse.

Mercy strokes are the worst.  Erk talked to me about it later, about how the man looked at him with hatred in his eyes, but pleading at the same time.  The mercy stroke is a swift death, often a gift from the victor to the defeated, and only the strongest warriors have the strength to do it for their foes.  Erk surprised me in that way, being able to give the mercy stroke, he was more of a scholarly mage than anything else.  Still, he had contracted himself out to guard Serra, so he had to have some experience.  But cutting a man's throat never gets any easier.  Suppressing my own urge to bring up my lunch, I knelt over the man and searched his pockets. "He doesn't have the key."  I told the mage and flier.

"It must be the other, then."  Erk replied, and Florina nodded as she wrapped Huey's leg busily.  She still could not look at the body, charred and blackened as it was.  I stood up and shielded my eyes against the sun to see how the other group was fairing.  Against the lone pikeman, the battle should have been easy, but it was taking too long.  He had backed himself into an alley that was too narrow for more than one horse abreast, so Kent and Sain could not come at him from both sides.  Since we did not have much time, I gathered my wits close to myself and started toward the group to advise them.

"Erk, Florina, head north, join up with Lyn and the guard captain.  Be ready for when we get the door opened."

"Erm…milord?"  Erk, his face pale and drawn, stepped up to me and touched my shoulder lightly.  "If I may, they'll be fine, especially with Serra to heal them.  I worry about the man that you sent Lyn after.  He did not seem hostile to me, but that does not make him friendly."

I frowned.  "Lyn is an intelligent woman, Erk, and an excellent hand with the sword.  You've seen her in action yourself, why should she need my help for this?"

Surprisingly, Florina chimed in as she climbed into Huey's saddle.  "Lyn was never good at dealing with liars."

_Liars?_

"Think, Josef, what kind of a man would be skulking about on the outskirts of the battlefield, looking for a side to choose?"  Erk asked.  His color was slowly returning, but he grew pale again every time the wind brought the stench of cooked flesh up to our nostrils.

"A thief, most likely looking to steal from the victors."

"Lyn _hates_ thieves."  Florina said emphatically.

I sighed, Wil was trying to get in a shot between the cavalier's fruitless attacks on the pikeman.  "You're right, they'll be fine.  Let's go deal with this thief."

We went north, and met up with Rath, who was just leaving an odd looking, dilapidated building.  "I found the first switch."  He said, and pointed to the wall nearby, which had folded inward to form a passageway.  "Good."  I told him.  "Take Erk and Florina in, we think we've located the second switch.  Be ready to hit the third when they've finished."

The guard captain nodded, and the three of them made their way into the castle through the passage.  I turned my attention then to the only house that had its door open.  As I approached, the sound of Lyn in an angry fit floated through the air to greet me.

"You mean, without your snide little lies, that you're a thief!"

I sighed, Erk and Florina had been all too right.  As I entered the house, Lyn blocked my view of the man, which meant he was either sitting down, or shorter than her.  "Lyn."  I said, my voice as calm as I could make it.  She whirled on me and pointed a finger at the thief (who turned out to be seated after all) accusingly.

"This man has offered his…services, Josef!  He is the worst sort of thief, he watched the battle until he knew we were winning, then acted like he meant to join us all along!"

I appraised the man; he was severely unkempt.  His hair was mussed and his clothes ragged, his face was smudged with dirt in several places.  Under all that gunk, though, he was astoundingly attractive, he had open, eager eyes that darted back and forth, taking in everything.  He had light brown hair, and wore a red cloak with a green shirt and brown breeches.  His outfit was in all ways a perfect emulation of a wandering thief.  "Well, first things first, Lightfingers.  Give Lyn back the pipe you stole from her, she'll be angry at you if she finds it gone when she wants to smoke tonight."

The insufferable man actually _grinned_, and deposited Lyn's precious pipe in her hands as neatly as he had apparently taken them.  "Good advice, milord.  Who are you that you know this she-devil so well?"

"Her tactician.   You want to help us, then?"

He stood up and extended his hand.  The thin, flexible gloves that thieves always wore covered his hands, and I took it gingerly in my own.  "Name's Matthew.  I have numerous talents, opening locked doors, relieving owners of what they don't need…"

"Yes, yes, you're a thief.  I assume you know about the passage into the castle?"  He nodded.  "All right then, get to work, there's a plainsmen on horseback inside the passage that can give you orders.  And don't even think of garnishing your wages with gold from my pocket, I keep a close watch."

"Yessir!"  cried the lanky thief.  He turned out to be fairly tall, taller than I was, but almost achingly thin.  He was gone before I knew it, presumably to pilfer the home of a marquess.  I only hoped that he would actually do as he was told.  Lyn gave me a stormy look and stalked out after him; I did not stop her.

Once inside the castle, we ran into an armored knight and his archer lackey.  As I came in behind Lyn, the archer fired a shot at Florina, but Huey twisted aside so the arrow impaled itself in the wall behind him.  Matthew had disappeared, predictably, and Rath was taking shots at the armored knight.  His arrows unfortunately did little, and the booming laugh of the knight showed that none of them had found their way through his plated mail.  Sending Huey into a grounded charge, Florina impaled the archer in the stomach with her lance, and he went down just in time to have a fireball explode in his face.  The big knight growled tremendously and turned toward Erk, who was scattering the remains of the spell energy.

"You'll pay for that, mageling.  Lyndis and her crew, no doubt, I'll have your heads!"

Florina got out of the way as the man charged, but Erk stood fast, casting a spell with quick hand movements.  Just as the knight was about to get to him, a huge ball of flames exploded out from his outstretched hands, blasting the man back into the wall and practically cooking him in his armor.  The man tried to get up, but Lyn slid her sword in between the plates on his back and ended his life.

A few hours and a fire later, we were presented to the Marquess Araphen.  Immured in his throne as though he never left it, the man was an angry-looking, pinch-faced old goat, and I wondered how in the world he could have snagged Rath as his guard captain.  Only Kent, Sain, and I accompanied Lyn and Rath into the marqess' presence, and of us, only Lyn and I stood.  When we entered, the marquess had a pleased expression on his face.

"Ah, Rath, excellent work!  That was quite a show!"

_As though his people dying to save his bloody castle and being hacked to bits on the wall was entertainment!_  I thought indignantly.

"Marquess, if praise is to be given, it should go to these people."

From where he knelt, Rath indicated our party.  "Rath, leave us."  And the captain did so.  Araphen's eyes narrowed as he looked at us, as though he had not seen us until that moment.  He pointed at me.  "You there, why do you not kneel?"

I blinked.  "I am neither your vassal nor the Lady Lyndis', your grace.  I kneel to no one but the leader of the League."

"You will kneel, peasant."  He replied.  Lyn stepped in front of me, her eyes filled with fire and anger.  It was…refreshing to have that wrath on my behalf for once.

"Josef is my friend and my teacher, Lord Araphen.  Would you ask your priest to bow before you?"

"Of course not, priests are men of the gods; lords have no power over them."

"Then think of Josef as a priest, if it will still your misgivings."

The marquess shifted on his throne uncomfortably under Lyn's green stare.  "I agreed to provide you and your party aid in your endeavor to reach House Caelin in time to rescue your grandfather.  I must confess, you do look very much like the Lady Madelyn, but I had not expected to see her daughter so…tainted with mongrel blood."

"Your grace!  Take that back!"  Sain leaped to his feet indignantly, but Kent grabbed his breastplate and pulled him forcefully to the ground.  The red-haired man was much stronger than he looked.

"Your man is poorly disciplined."

"You gave me your word, your grace."  Said the cavalier, his voice more cool and even than Rath had managed.

"I have changed my mind."

"Your grace!"

Lyn intervened again, this time staying Kent with a quick glance, then whipping her body around to face the marquess.  Twin wisps of green hair fell from the ponytail she wore to frame her face as she glared green daggers at the man.  "Then we will not bother you further."

"Lyn…"  I started.

"No, Josef.  I will not accept aid from a man who insults my people.  Let us go."

She turned and left, her hair trailing after her like a banner.  Sain, Kent, and I went after her, but I stopped at the doorway when I heard the Marquess muttering.

"Fool girl, if she had shed but one tear, I would have granted her request.  I do not understand these dogs from the plains."

"Is that what you truly think of Sacae, my lord?"

Rath came up from behind the throne, presumably through another secret entrance.

"Oh, Rath, I did not see you there!  You have nothing to fear; I am proud of your service, you are nothing like the people who threw you out."

"So, if we bow down before you and serve you, you have no qualms about us.  But Father Sky forbid one of the "dogs" come off the plains as an equal!"

"Watch your language, Captain!  Have I not treated you well, given you all that you needed?"

"A thousand curses upon you and yours.  My service ends here."

Araphen called for the guards, but none ever came.  I let a smirk crawl onto my face as I passed through the gate into the town proper, I knew where Rath would be when next I met him.

Author's Note:  Sorry this took so long, I tried to fulfill paladin2007's request.  I know I've been going thin on the battles, which form the most important aspect of the game, and I apologize for that.  I hope you enjoy the one for this chapter, I put a lot of work into it.  This chapter is late because it's well, about two and a half times as long as usual.  Narrator 1, I actually agree with you, that name was just a place holder.  I missed it on my last edit, its actual name is Dierna.  I'll go back and change that.

I'd like to put out a request for a beta reader.  Just someone to point out inconsistencies in the plot and any heinous grammar/spelling mistakes that I don't catch.  If anyone feels like it, just e-mail me, I'd love to have the help, and you'll get to see the next chapter before it's posted!

On Couples:  My policy with this fanfic is to not reveal any of the couple choices overtly.  I'll leave clues in the story, but you won't actually know for a while.  Come on, the suspense is good for ya. ^-~  Thanks for the reviews, you're all just lovely.  Sorry to any Matthew lovers, I promise that he'll be more important as the story proceeds.


	8. Siblings Abroad

Chapter Eight: Siblings Abroad

_Brother and sister, estranged by time,_

_For just one sin, their only crime._

_A sickened priest, St. Elimine's blessed,_

_Bearer of light, by gods caressed._

As we rode into Kathelet shortly after midday, a feeling of intense unease washed over me like a cold breeze in winter, and I shivered. Lyn looked perplexed, but I noticed that both Erk and Serra were also out of sorts. Florina was in the sky above us, so I had the dubious pleasure of Lyn's company for this ride. Erk and Serra rode just ahead of us, with Kent and Sain before them, leading the column of strangely mixed fighters. Directly behind Lyn and I were Dorcas and Wil (the latter of which was babbling his silly head off at the big warrior, and being blithely ignored). Matthew was nowhere to be found, though I suspected that he was concealed somewhere in the trees around us. He and his dapple-grey horse blended into just about anything together, despite the flamboyant crimson of his cape. I meant to ask him how he managed that someday, but he never seemed to stick around long enough for me to do anything but give commands and receive reports. Between him and the pegasus rider, though, our little band was never surprised; one of them always managed to get back to us in time to give us a head start on any enemies.

"Are you all right, Josef? You're pale, and you're giving Peaches a bit more rein than you usually do."

Lyn's voice was concerned, but I waved a hand casually, taking my horse to task gently. "I'm fine, Lyn. We've been traveling for a long time, and not all of us have your inimitable constitution."

"Inimitable?" she asked, and I chuckled. After that, we did not talk much. I suspected that she would rather have been riding with Rath, who brought up the rear of the column, and my suspicions were only reinforced by the surreptitious glances she kept throwing back. When Dorcas gave her a stony frown for her trouble, she stopped, but I noticed that her shoulders still twitched as if trying to turn. I understood why, he was her fellow plainsman in a crowd of outlanders, and she would have taken great comfort in his company. Rath, though, was not one for much conversation. At her first entreaty, he had simply shaken his head to show that he had no wish to speak, and she gave up after that.

We made it to a small town a few hours later, and we went directly to the inn. The place was a fair-sized building with plain, whitewashed walls and a simple sign that showed a platter of food and a bed. The windows looked like they could have used a cleaning, and the whitewash had turned more than a bit grey, but for the most part, it was a decent establishment. Lyn and I went inside while the others took care of the horses.

The inside of the inn matched its face for the most part. Scents of plain country food wafted in from the kitchen, and if the men drinking the ale did not savor every last drop, at least they did not grimace every time they took a sip of the stuff. The innkeeper was an unfriendly-looking man with swiftly receding brown hair and a scowl to burn stone. There was one oddity in the room, a monk with long, beautiful blonde hair that fell to his waist. He was dressed in the blue robes of an Elimine priest, and appeared to be reading a book on light magic. Of all the men in the common, he was the only one who was not trying to drown himself in bad liquor. I was paying for a room when a small boy crashed into me and knocked the coins from my hands. Thinking him a thief, I grabbed him by the dangly scarf that hung about his neck to keep him from running off.

"Oi, you, give back whatever it is you stole."

When he turned to look at me, I dropped the scarf from amazement. The boy had huge, silver eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dim light of the hostel. I snapped back to awareness when I realized that he was talking.

"I didn't take anything sir, I swear!"

He seemed agitated for some reason, and torn between saying more and silence. I could tell by the way that his lip quivered and his skinny form shook that he was in trouble, so I decided that I'd have it out of him. As I bent down to retrieve the coins, I said, "Out with it, boy. You're in some kind of trouble, aren't you?"

"Trouble?" Lyn repeated, kneeling to help me with the silvers. Her voice seemed to open the boy's floodgates, since he burst out with it all at once after that.

"It's my sister, they've taken her! I don't know what to do, the villagers were so nice to us last night, but now they're being mean, and…and…I don't know what to do! Please, you've just got to help me save Ninian!"

And that, my friends, is how it all _really_ started.

"Your sister?"

I groaned as Sain stepped up beside me, head waving frantically back and forth, finally stopping on the boy as he identified the speaker. Kent's exasperated sigh mirrored my own as he appraised the boy with shrewd eyes.

"Milady, what do you intend to do?" he asked Lyn. Turmoil showed in her eyes at that moment, the little girl in her longing to fly as quickly as she could to her grandfather, while the part of her that was growing into a woman felt the urge to scoop up the child and take all of his worries away. There was a third force at work as well, the wild warrior who could not bear to let injustice remain. "Milady?" Kent insisted. "We must make all haste to Caelin, there is no time to lose."

"Surely you don't intend to abandon this poor boy's sister to the wolves!" Sain exclaimed. I examined Kent's expression at that moment, and the hard set of his mouth told me that yes, he would, and thought that was the best course of action. Lyn, however, had her own ideas.

"Kent, I want to help this boy." She said softly, and I shook my head. Kent nodded.

"You realize the consequences?" he asked.

"I do."

"I am bound not to question the order of my liege lord's daughter. I will do what you wish of me." He said solemnly. Sain nodded with some satisfaction, and the other cavalier gave him a glare fit to curdle stone. Lyn accorded Sain a quick glance.

"Sain?"

He eagerly began to open his mouth, but she shook her head and smiled a little. "Never mind, I know what you think. What about you, Josef?"

I fingered my chin, which had a bit of scruff on it for me to rub; we'd been on the road for some time after all. Weighing the benefits, which were few and small, against the obvious pitfalls, which were many and abyssal, I grinned and said, "I think it sounds like just the job for Lyn's Legions."

Lyn returned the grin, Kent just sighed again, and Sain whooped, charging out to find his horse. The boy, whose name we still did not know, reached out and grabbed Lyn's garish sleeve, looking up at her with worshipful eyes. "Thank you, miss! Thank you so much!" he gushed, and I rolled my eyes.

"We're not doing this _for_ you, boy." I admonished him, as we left behind an inn filled with bewildered patrons and an innkeeper who'd just lost the equivalent of a whole month's worth of business; Lyn's party would have to move on and camp outdoors to make up for lost time. "We're doing it _with_ you. What do you know about the men who kidnapped your sister? For that matter, tell us about yourself, no information is wasted."

He was remarkably calm, now that he knew that something was going to be done to rescue his sister. Gazing at me evenly, he ordered his thoughts and brightened. "I'm Nils, and I already told you all Ninian's name. We're traveling performers, trekking across the world to find new music and dances! I'm a bard."

One of my eyebrows must have risen, because he puffed up his little chest and brandished an elegant, silver flute in my direction. It was something of a surprise, since he didn't seem to have any pockets, and the thing came out of no where at all. "I am! I can help in battle, too, my songs are…special."

I hadn't thought that a child as young as Nils was could appear mysterious, but he somehow managed it in that moment. Since he obviously didn't want to part with the manner in which his songs were "special", I forged on with the questioning. Lyn frowned at me, perhaps she disapproved of the way I was interrogating Nils, but blessedly left me in peace. "All right then, what did these men look like?"

"Well, they all wore these big, black cloaks, and they were mean, and rude, and cruel, and…There! They looked like that!"

I whipped around to look at what he was pointing to, wind catching in my cloak with unnecessary drama as I did. What I saw made my blood run cold. Every tactician worth his salt knew what those black robes meant, even if these men did not get deployed against armies. _Assassins_, I remember thinking, with _The Black Fang!_ directly on the heels of the first thought. I shuddered, and gathered my cloak around myself despite the fact that the sun overhead could have broiled eggs in a pan.

"Lyn, we've got trouble."

She nodded, agreeing silently with me. Dorcas jumped down from his big gelding and landed heavily on his feet. Then, he hefted his huge axe over his shoulder and peered out at the strange men gathering in the distance. "Assassins, milord?" he asked mildly. As a former mercenary, he probably had experience with that dark breed of trained killer.

"Yes, and the worst sort."

He nodded, but neither of us wanted to say anything about it to the rest of the group. There was no point in generating a panic, and it didn't really matter _who_ the enemy was, just that they were incredibly skilled, and that they worked together like bees in a hive. As I surveyed the land ahead of us, dotted with distant, dark figures that were nearly uncountable, I realized that the warning vibe from earlier in the day had intensified enough to give me a headache. I looked over to Erk, who was massaging his temples, probably for the same reason; Serra looked like she was going to go into a panic at any moment.

"There is a dark enchantment laid over their men, good sir." Said a soft voice from behind me. I turned slowly, and beheld the beautiful man from the tavern. Touched by sunlight, his hair fairly glowed, though his face had the pallor of a man who does not enjoy sound health. He made a slashing motion with his left hand, and the figures in the distance suddenly materialized into just three men. "An old trick that shaman use." Said the monk. "It is easy to be fooled if you are not familiar with it."

I frowned, wondering who he was. "Thank you, but why? Why would you help us?"

He chuckled, a soft, musical sound as beautiful as his outer form. Nils, who was practically glued to Lyn's leg, pointed out the new development to his "protector", and she spared me a quick, anxious look. I nodded, and it seemed like some of the tension that set in her face drained away. The monk propped up his book of light magic in one arm and looked significantly at the young bard. "In the absence of the townspeople, I would like to aid that boy. If they will not protect their souls, then it is my duty to do so for them." His pretty mouth twitched. "Nils petitioned the innkeeper for aid before you arrived. The man was…unpleasant."

There was an impression of something a bit darker than unpleasantness in that statement, but I let it roll past. "You're skilled in light magic, then?" I asked him, and he gave me a nod of assent. "A bishop, Excellency?"

He laughed again. "Would a bishop be wandering around this country on his own? My mentor always complained to me that the church knights would insist on coming along with him every time he went out to ride, but I do not suffer as he did. No, good sir, I am but a simple monk who would lend you his services. Elimine smiles upon you, and turns her eyes from your enemy."

A man in a great, dark cloak somehow different from those that his allies, materialized before us at about a hundred paces. Purple lightning crackled all about the his form, knitting angry patterns in the air.

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that was the man that put the befuddling spell on us." I murmured, and the beautiful monk gave a slight nod to show that he agreed. I shrugged and extended my hand to him, "Looks like we'll be needing your special skills, so how can I refuse? What's your name?"

"Lucius." He replied simply, giving my hand a gentle shake before letting go again. "I assume you have a plan, tactician?"

Interestingly, he did not ask me for my name. I wondered why, but let it go. He would not be remaining with us, so it did not really matter. "I do. It'll be touch and go for a while, especially with the dark mages, but I think we can pull it off."

A wiry man with his head covered by a dark cloth, came up from behind the shaman, who moved aside only with great reluctance. Even so, he scanned Lyn's people, searching for the spell breaker. His eyes lighted on Lucius, who smiled very slightly and nodded. Though I could not see the shaman's face, I had a feeling it was just a bit red at that moment. As his cohort tried to snatch Nils (and was subsequently repelled by Lyn, or, more precisely, Lyn's sword), I outlined my plan to Lucius, who was now a major component of them.

"I studied the maps of this area a while back on the trail. Off to the east, there is a small town, larger than this little hamlet, but not big enough to have its own militia. If these men are as bad as their reputations, we need to get to that town to warn the people, unless we want it to be toast. Burned toast." The mercenary made some rather nasty gestures at Lyn, and had another try for Nils, but Lyn returned his sally by swinging thirty inches of blessed steel up to his throat. It was a tribute to his training that he jumped back before she could draw blood with it, and he scowled beneath his coverings. Lucius motioned for me to continue, and I complied. "I'm going to send the cavaliers east to get to the town, hopefully before the looters have a chance to move in. Wil's used to riding pillion with Sain, so he'll be going along with them. He'll probably be able to take out any interlopers before they get past the gates, but if he doesn't, well, that's what Kent and Sain are for."

I pointed to the mountains that lay south of us. "There's a castle down below us, one of the more minor Lycian nobles used to live there. Now, though, it's been abandoned for about five years, so we can probably expect that they've taken it over. And if he's any indication of the enemy," I pointed at the shaman, who was still roiling with dark energies, "the leader is going to be a shaman as well. Serra hasn't learned light magic yet, and I don't dare send Erk anywhere near the man. Florina is getting pretty good with her lance, but…"

Florina and Huey came crashing down through the air to land awkwardly on the ground just as I was about to comment on her fighting prowess, solving my problem of having to criticize one of my people quite neatly. Lucius laughed good-naturedly, but then I revealed the next part of the plan. "Don't get too comfy, Brother. If you're with us, you're going to need to do it my way, and my way is the way that I think will work."

"And what way is that?" Lucius asked, amusement showing in the way his slim lips curved upward. I spread my hands sheepishly.

"Since Florina can't take on the leader by herself, I'm sending you along with her."

The monk's eyes narrowed a bit at that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean for you to ride pillion with her over the mountains." Lucius opened his mouth, but I continued, trying to finish before he made any objections. "Once the cavaliers are finished, they'll come around with the main body from the east, hopefully drawing the bulk of the enemy away from the castle. You and Florina shouldn't have any trouble dealing with the remaining shaman, but if you do, throw up a signal, and Lyn will lead a detachment from the main body in to rescue you."

He frowned. "A signal?"

"You're a light mage, Brother, what sort of signal do you think I'd ask you to use?"

Color that did not normally paint the man's cheeks suffused his face as he blushed. "Pardon, I do not have much experience with battle."

"That's all right." I told him. "You're about to get plenty. Now get moving, we don't have much time before they figure out what we're up to. The leader's probably got half of his mages spying for him. Florina, did you hear what I said to the good brother?"

She nodded, and motioned for Lucius to climb up behind her on that winged terror she called a mount. Huey made a pass at my mare, but she just _whuffed_ a little and ignored him. Securing Lucius on Huey's pillion pad was not an easy task, especially since Florina was somewhat smaller than her passenger. The pillion for a pegasus was a complex contraption composed of myriad leather straps with a pad that was attached to the saddle itself. Normal pillion pads were separate, but in the air, a passenger needed the extra security.

"Are you sure Huey can do this?" I asked Florina. She smiled confidently.

"Huey's very strong, milord. No need to worry about us while we're in the air."

"All right then. The rendezvous point is the river just east of the castle. We'll be waiting on the eastern bank. Now, get moving. Best of luck to you both."

"Not luck, tactician." Lucius said quietly, looking at me with his large, blue eyes. Whatever he said next was lost in the wind as Huey galloped away down the green and took off into the sky. I watched them for a few moments as they disappeared into the harsh sunlight, flying over the hump of the small mountain range that ran through this part of Kathelet. Then I gently kneed Peaches forward to join Lyn, who still fended off the Black Fang who was trying to get hold of Nils.

"Go back to the hole you crawled out from." I told the man, and he scowled at me from behind a mask of black cloth.

"And who are you to tell me what to do, boy?" He turned his attention to me, and I shivered. "Don't even carry a weapon, do you?" He was by my horse in moments; he was fast. Peaches shied away from him and whinnied. The mercenary raised a sword to run me through, and I fingered my sleeves nervously. Fortunately for me, though, the man conveniently went up in flames before he could attack me. I whirled, reining in Peaches to turn with me, and saw Erk, an aura of magic still hovering around him. The rune he had used to cast the fire spell dissipated and I exhaled, relieved.

"Thank you, Erk." I breathed, and he nodded, understanding.

"Oh Erky, you're so cool!"

Serra had apparently fully recovered from her earlier discomfort. I let my eyes roll, and chuckled as I saw the action mimicked on Erk's face. If the chuckle had a small not of hysteria in it, none of the others made any note.

"Let's go. The others may need backup. , but we won't cross unless the good brother and Florina send up a flare."

Kent rode up beside me, remarkably light in his saddle for that we had been riding the better part of the day before arriving at the inn. "Milord?"

I cursed silently. "Don't call me that, Kent. You and Wil know what to do. Rath, please go with them as well."

He nodded, bowing slightly in the saddle, and motioned for Sain, who bore Wil (still not a competent rider, and we despaired of him ever becoming so) on the pillion pad behind him, to move out. Sain waved at me and grinned broadly as they sped away at a canter, while Wil's lips were pressed tight together and he hung onto the horse for dear life. I tried to make my smile encouraging, but I don't know how much it helped. Rath, of course, followed the order, but ignored me otherwise. Once the two horsemen were gone, Lyn, the two magic users, Dorcas, the child bard, and I remained.

"Lyn?" I asked softly, and she rode up beside me.

"What is it, Josef?" she inquired, green eyebrows rising to meet her bangs.

"Your knights are going the long way around; I sent them that way because they fight on horseback, and horses will be useless to us in the hills on the way to the river by our route. We're going to have to dismount and lead the horses; the hills around here are practically mountains, and none of you can fight on your horses anyway."

Lyn frowned as if to say that I should not be so sure, but let it go, leaping down from Windancer and patting him on his withers. Dorcas followed suit, and Erk. Serra fidgeted a bit in her saddle.

"Serra." I said, getting down myself from Peaches' saddle. "Come down from there, we may need your healing arts."

The priestess promptly stuck her nose up into the air and pouted. Her emulation of a noblewoman really was quite remarkable, but she could never capture the true arrogance that came with the territory. "Serra, get off that horse, now. That's an order."

"You want a Sister to _walk_ all the way to that dank old castle? I think not, Josef. You will do well enough without me, I'm sure."

"Serra, if you don't get down, I'll pull you down. Either that, or we will leave you behind, and I honestly don't think you'll be able to survive on your own."

"Erky will protect me!" she claimed obstinately, and the mage winced.

"You're right." I told her. "He will." I turned away. "But all that means is that you'll _both_ die. Lyn, shall we?"

I walked, very slowly, a few steps forward, grasping Peaches' reins casually, and mentally counted to three. _One…two…_

"Wait! Josef, don't leave me!"

_Three._ Inwardly, I both sighed and grinned. _She may be annoying, but she can use that staff of hers, and it's looking more and more like we're going to need it._

The foray through the "hills" was uneventful. We came across two armed, hostile men, but they were obviously not Black Fang, and also obviously not as well trained. Still, I was more than a little unnerved, though I thought I had an explanation worked out. As we made our way down the last of the not-mountains, Dorcas walked up to me and peered about. Like me, he seemed to have more than a few doubts about the situation.

"I have a bad feeling about this, milord." He commented softly.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that, Dorcas, there's no reason for it." I complained. He, of course, ignored me. I sighed. "Your feeling may be right, though. It looks like whoever's in charge of the Black Fang sent only a few of his men, and filled in the gaps with ordinary mercenaries."

"But." Dorcas did not ask questions. I liked that; it meant he was competent.

"But if those kids are important enough to send anyone at all after them…" I looked over to Nils, who was looking up at Lyn with shining eyes, and maybe more than a little hero-worship. Dorcas exhaled roughly, and we walked in silence down to the bottom of the hill. Once there, we were able to mount up once again, and I took advantage, since my feet were starting to cramp up from the long walk. Interestingly, Lyn and Dorcas remained on foot, though both mages followed my example. The walk down to the river from the hills was as boring as the climb had been, but something worked in the back of my head that bothered me, though apparently nothing had gone wrong.

An hour passed as we waited by the river; Lyn played with Nils (though I noted that she kept her hand on the Mani Katti's sheath at all times), and Erk read in the shade of a nearby tree. Serra soaked her feet in the river's cool water, singing with an incongruously beautiful soprano. At the end of the hour, Kent's contingent arrived, riding fast, and I squinted in the afternoon sun, trying to make out details. Rath appeared unmarked, but Sain carried a prone form over his saddle, one that wore blue, and Kent wore a bandage over his forehead that looked like it already needed to be changed. Riding behind Kent was the missing member of our party,

"Matthew!" I shouted as Kent rode up, guiding his horse to a slow stop. "Where the _hell_ have you been?"

Sliding down from the saddle lithely, the thief absorbed the shock of landing with a bend of his knees and bowed with a flourish. "Doing milord's good work, milord." He quipped, and I resisted the urge to backhand him. Instead, I looked up at Kent.

"What does he mean, Kent?" I asked. The eternally unruffled cavalier, astonishingly, looked abashed, his brown eyes shifting slightly from side to side.

"We rode to the village as you ordered, and we made it in time to warn the villagers to bar their gates and set men with bows on the walls, but we did not pay enough attention to what was behind us on our way here." He turned motioned toward Sain, who was currently lowering the nearly unconscious form of Wil to Dorcas' grasp. "Looking for mercenaries, we failed to account for a group of bandits that came around from behind. Sain and I took care of most of them, but in their initial push, they got Wil. He'd be dead if it weren't for Matthew; the man just appeared suddenly just as the bandit knocked Wil off of Sain's horse, then slit the bastard's throat."

I blinked; it was unusual for Kent to curse, but then, I supposed the situation merited a bit of cursing. Matthew continued to grin at me infuriatingly as I thanked him for his services, and bowed again with that ridiculous red cape fluttering dramatically in the wind. Once that was done with, I went over to Wil, who was currently bearing up under the "tender" ministrations of our priestess.

"Serra, you're supposed to _heal_ him, not kill him." I heard Erk comment.

"Erky, don't interrupt a sister when she's working!"

"He's got a bruise where you're grabbing his arm, I think you should let go."

"He's a man, he'll deal with it!"

As I drew closer, I saw that Serra held a long, slender rod in her left hand, grasping Wil's wrist with the other. The tip of the staff glowed brightly with white light, and the halo grew brighter as it drew in more holy power from its surroundings. After a few more moments, the light leaped from the staff and into Wil's body, and he heaved once, coughed, and opened his eyes. Serra let go, and Erk helped the archer to a sitting position. I knelt beside him.

"Are you all right, Wil?" I asked, and he chuckled wearily.

"I think so, just a bit tired."

"Not regretting joining our little band, are you?"

"Not a whit, tactician." He retorted, and got to his feet with only marginal help from the mage. "I can still fight today, if you need me."

"Josef!" Lyn shouted suddenly. I whirled about just in time to see a bright flare of blue light erupt above the castle that lurked on the other side of the river, and spared Wil a last glance before running to Peaches and mounting.

As we rode up to the castle's gates, I noticed the supreme lack of humanity all around. Seeing Lucius' signal had made me think that he and Florina had encountered an army here, but there was no evidence of men anywhere.

"Do you think they're in the castle?" Nils asked Lyn loudly, and she looked at me in askance. I shrugged.

"It's possible, but if they are, they were taken by the enemy. Maybe they're hiding in the woods…"

Abruptly, a whirlwind of feathers and horseflesh screeched out of the sky and to the ground just in front of me, and I nearly fell out of Peaches' saddle. Lucius, looking tightlipped and nauseous, climbed gingerly down from Huey's back and to the ground. He staggered, and Erk steadied him. The holy man favored the mage with a grateful glance before promptly vomiting up the contents of his stomach. I respectfully averted my eyes until he was finished dry heaving, then steeled myself. Florina sat ramrod straight in her saddle, lips locked close; and there was a hollow quality to her eyes that told me she wasn't going to be talking. That meant it would have to be Lucius.

"Brother?" I asked, handing him my handkerchief to clean his face as best he could.

"I never want to do that again." He replied, accepting the cloth gratefully. "Do you need me to tell you what we saw?"

I nodded. "The reason why you sent up the flare."

"We made it over the mountains easily enough, though I think that flying takes some getting acclimated to. Once here, we found that only a few followers remained, and those outside of the castle. They had only a minimal guard with them, easily dispatched. I believe that there is some force inside that is preventing them from entering." He finished wiping his face, and the cloth evaporated in a plume of white flame. "The followers themselves were not so easy."

Something about the way he said it and how he looked made me decline to ask what killing them had entailed. The same something told me that it had probably had been very, very messy. "I'm sorry." I told him, but he demurred, spreading his pale hands wide.

"No need, I understood what pledging my service to your lady meant. However, I find that I am not up to the task of defeating the dark mage who guards the entrance." He gestured to the castle's gate, which fairly roiled with a vertical whirlpool of dark energies. "Needless to say, he swatted me away as a man swats a fly."

I nodded grimly, and guilt pressed in on me as a plan formulated in my mind. "Brother, I am very sorry, but do you think that you can confront this man again?"

The monk's eyes widened and his lips pressed together wanly, but he nodded, and I outlined the burgeoning plan.

"Scion of evil, stand forth and face the terror of the light!"

Sometimes having a thief about was very useful. Matthew had a peculiar ability to throw his voice to any position within his general vicinity, and to assume an astounding range of characters on the spot. He was using that talent now to make Lucius appear more commanding, while the monk himself merely moved his lips in unison.

"_Foolish boy!"_ screeched a high, thin voice from an indiscernible point that came generally from the castle's entrance. _"Do you think you fight for good? Feh! It is all an illusion!"_

A man materialized on the gate's steps, and with his hood down, I could see that the dark mage was not pleasant to look upon. He and Lucius made a strange pair, facing off on the green just before the gates, one evidence of the grotesque torment of the dark arts, the other a perfect image of light's beauty. I watched from a small copse some thirty paces away as Lucius and Matthew (the latter somehow concealed in grass shorter than shin-height) distracted the dark mage while Lyn made her way around from the eastern side.

"Good, evil, your petty sentiments cannot affect me!" continued the mage, taking a step closer. I held my breath, if he looked to the side, our plan could easily be ruined. "There is only power!" He took another step, then jerked around to his side suddenly. I gasped; he must have seen light flash off of Lyn's open blade, and watched as he gathered dark magicks to strike my friend down.

"No!" I shouted, and time slowed. Lyn drove her blade up toward the dark mage, but it seemed that she would not make it in time to slay him before he destroyed her with his spell. Sound disappeared into the void, and I watched, horrified, as violet light arced from the mage's hands, lancing for the plainswoman's heart.

Then, somehow, a beam of pure, white light, smacked aside the dark mage's attack, sending it astray. The Mani Katti slid easily through the mage's breast, ending his life, and time resumed its normal course. I dropped Peaches' reins and raced up to Lyn to see if she was all right. Dimly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the monk collapse, but he was not my concern.

Evidently, my concern was not needed. When I reached her, Lyn was calmly wiping her blade on the dead man's robes. She looked up as I came over, and her lips quirked a little, but she otherwise seemed unaffected.

"Lyn, are you all right?" I asked, and she laughed nervously.

"I think so, Josef."

"But are you sure? He was using strange magic; he may have harmed you without your knowing."

She stared at me for a few moments, then shook her head, smiling. "I'm fine, Joe." She finished wiping away the grime that marred her holy sword, sheathed it, and turned toward the dilapidated castle. "Shall we go in?"

Nils came bounding up from behind me, raced past Lyn and into the castle. I blinked, then closed my eyes and sighed. "Did you have to ask? Catch him; there might still be some left. I think we're finished with them, but best to expect the worst."

She nodded, and we entered together.

"Ninian!" Nils called out in a shrill voice. "Ninian, where are you?"

"Is she here?" Lyn wondered, then looked over at me. I shrugged.

"It's possible that they already took her away. I don't think that's so, but it is possible."

Nils shot me a venomous glance and increased his volume to unholy pitch. After several moments of fruitless searching and taxing falsetto, a hand tapped my shoulder, and I turned to look at its owner. Kent stood there with a dejected Sain lurking behind him.

"Yes?" I queried.

"We saw a small body of men riding southward a few minutes ago." Kent said, and Nils' cacophony abruptly ceased. "They were wearing dark cloaks."

"Many people wear black clothing, Kent. Are you sure it was the Black Fang?" I replied.

"Well, we can't be certain…" he trailed off hesitantly. Sain stepped forward, looking uncharacteristically sour. Instead of focusing on me, the green-clad cavalier homed in on Lyn.

"My lady, we must give pursuit! The boy's sister may even now be drawing further from her brother. How she must weep at the separation!"

_Someone's weeping, that's for sure._ I rolled my eyes. "Sain, did you see a girl among these men?"

"A girl? Is it possible that you mean this good lady?"

I whirled, and the others followed suit. From out of a nearby doorway, a tall youth with blazingly red hair stepped forth, and he bore a young woman with long, silvered hair. Swiftly, I appraised him; the circlet around his forehead marked him the heir to one of the noble houses of Lycia, and his blue clothing showed him to be from Caelin. He wore a slender rapier at his hip and went lightly armored. He appeared to be slightly built, but the ease with which he bore the girl implied greater strength. Two pikemen stood behind him, hands wrapped tightly about their man-height spears.

"Ninian!" Nils cried out, and dashed over to the red-haired lordling. I reached out to stop him, but something about the Lycian seemed familiar to me, and I stayed my hand. Even so, I checked behind me, and was reassured by the sight of Lyn and her two retainers with swords at hand. When I turned back, Nils was busying himself with trying to take his sister, though he was obviously far too small to bear the weight. Then, watching Nils, the Lycian smiled, and recognition flooded my mind.

"Eliwood…" I breathed, and Lyn looked at me sharply. I shook my head hurriedly. "Sir, may we ask who you are?"

He nodded, settling the girl called Ninian delicately to the ground, in her brother's lap. "Of course. I am called Eliwood."

Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry that it's been so long since I updated, but for some reason, I haven't been very inspired to write any fanfiction for a while now. Hopefully, Sealed Stones will change that, so I'm going to do my best to see this fic through!


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